91% of Americans Say Marijuana Should Be Legalized

A new Pew Research Center poll found that an overwhelming majority (91%) of Americans support legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational purposes.

In contrast, a similar poll in 2010 showed only 48% of Americans in support of legalization, Newsweek reported. The tide has turned in America. Nearly a dozen states have legalized recreational marijuana use and another seven—Arizona,  Arkansas, Florida, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota—are attempting to legalize it in 2020.

Conservatives and Republicans showed the lowest support for any form of marijuana legalization. The difference in the Republican Party is the millennial Republicans, who seem to support marijuana legalization almost as much as millennial Democrats, with 71% and 78% support, respectively. Democrats and Independents leaning toward the progressive side show support 8 times out of 10.

The elder generation (those ages 65 and older) still remains the group with the lowest amount of support for any form of marijuana legalization, with only 48% approval. Reefer Madness and prohibition appear to be engrained into that generation.

Many of the 2020 presidential candidates openly support marijuana legalization, which means federal marijuana legalization is near.