Poll: Majority wants marijuana legalized

from washingtonpost.com

• BY AARON BLAKE

• January 7 at 9:07 am

Another new poll shows a majority of Americans would like marijuana to be legal.

The CNN/Opinion Research poll shows 55 percent think marijuana should be legal, while 44 percent think it should not. The 55 percent who support legalization is up 12 points from just more than a year ago.

CNN isn't the first pollster to show a spike in support for marijuana legalization. BothPew and Gallup have shown similar trends, with new majorities supporting legalization.

Gallup showed support for legalization spiking to 58 percent in a poll released in October.

The CNN poll also shows that majorities of Americans do not see pot as physically or mentally harmful. They are about evenly split when it comes to whether it is addictive and leads to use of other drugs. Only 19 percent see its use as a major problem in society today.

The rise in support comes as Colorado and Washington have become the first states to legalize recreational marijuana. Colorado's dispensaries began selling the drug last week, and Washington will soon join in.

Marijuana remains illegal according to federal law, but the Justice Department has said it won't pursue legal action in either state that has legalized the substance.

Aaron Blake covers national politics at the Washington Post, where he writes regularly for the paper’s Post Politics and The Fix blogs. A Minnesota native and graduate of the University of Minnesota, Aaron has also written for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and The Hill newspaper. He joined the Post in 2010. Aaron, his wife, Danielle, and his dog, Mauer, live in Northern Virginia. Follow him on Twitter at @AaronBlakeWP.

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