Poll: Vast Majority of Americans Favor Federal Cannabis Legalization

NEW YORK–According to polling data collated by The Economist and YouGov.com, Americans approve a federal requirement legalizing cannabis for adult use nationally by a ratio of more than 2 to 1.

Some 45 percent of respondents believe that cannabis use by adults should be made legal nationwide by the federal government. That number is greater than the proportion of Americans who support a national law allowing abortion (41%) or physician-assisted suicide (45%).

According to 21% of respondents, it should essentially be up to each state to decide whether or not to legalize cannabis. Several cannabis reform bills now before Congress, including The MORE Act and The States Reform Act, aim to remove cannabis from the US Controlled Substances Act, giving state governments the freedom to decriminalize or legalize cannabis without interference from the federal government.

Only 20% of those polled concur that marijuana should be “nationally banned.”

While the majority of Americans accept the idea of the federal government requiring the states to legalize cannabis, such an outcome ”remains utterly implausible in our federalist system,” according to NORML’s deputy director Paul Armentano.

Instead, decisions about the legalization of cannabis have historically and currently been made at the state level. The best and most practical way for the federal government to respond is to take action to undo the negative effects of federal prohibition while allowing states to choose their own policy alternatives.

Additional polling data is available from NORML.