For First Time, CBS News Poll Has Majority for Marijuana Legalization

For the first time since the CBS News Poll first asked the question back in 1979, a slim majority of Americans support marijuana legalization. In the latest CBS News Poll, released today, 51% said marijuana should be legal, with 44% opposed.

The poll findings are in line with a raft of other polls taken since the November 2012 elections that have shown support for legalization at or beyond the tipping point. Those polls have shown support ranging from 45% on the low end to 58% on the high end.

The poll also demonstrates an accelerating trend toward support of legalization. In 1979, only 27% favored legalization. That number climbed slowly over the decades, with 40% supporting legalization in October 2011. But by April 2013, opinion was evenly divided, with 45% favoring legalization and 45% opposed, and now there is a majority for it.

The poll found support for legalization among all age groups except those over 65. Among the middle-aged (45 to 64), support grew to 55%, where in the April 2013 poll that age group was evenly divided.

Even though support is increasing among both sexes, a gender gap remains. Some 57% of men think marijuana should be legal, while only 46% of women do.

And when measured by ideology or political affiliation, only Republicans and conservatives oppose legalization, with each group reporting 61% disapproval. Most Democrats (59%), independents (54%), liberals (72%), and moderates (54%), supported legalizing marijuana use.

Support for medical marijuana was overwhelming, with 86% saying doctors should be allowed to recommend small amounts of marijuana for patients suffering from serious illness. But there is also skepticism, with 56% saying they think it is used for other purposes. But even three out of four (77%) of the skeptics said doctors should be allowed to recommend it anyway.

The poll also asked whether marijuana legalization should be left to the states or the federal government. A healthy majority (62%) said it should be left to the states.

Article republished from Stop the Drug War under Creative Commons Licensing