According to a new Gallup survey, 51 percent of Republicans now support the legalization of marijuana, marking the first time the organization has polled on pot issues and found majority support for legalization among those identifying with the GOP.
Overall support for legalization is also at an all-time high, with 64 percent of Americans in favor.
The percentage of Republicans now in favor of legal marijuana is a sharp increase from the 42 percent found to be in favor last year. Independents and Democrats continue to back legalization more broadly, with 67 percent and 72 percent in support, respectively.
Gallup first asked U.S. adults about their views on marijuana in 1969, when only 12 percent supported legal marijuana. Nationwide support for legalization first hit 50 percent in 2011.
Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level. However, eight states and Washington, D.C., have legalized the drug, and about 20 percent of Americans live in a state where marijuana is fully legal, according to Gallup.
States that have legalized marijuana have seen beneficial effects in areas like job growth and tax revenue, according to The Washington Post, while concerns have surfaced about drug-impaired driving and the availability of potent edible products.
Gallup’s poll results were based on interviews of 1,028 adults ages 18 and older, conducted from Oct. 5 to 11 in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Results based on the total national sample come with a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
credit:msn.com
