Category: Marijuana

Marijuana

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2016 Marijuana Law State Elections

Marijuana Laws

The results of the November 2016 elections are in and voters in eight states decided in favor of legalizing marijuana.

Voters in four states: California (Proposition 64), Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada backed statewide marijuana initiatives regulating the adult use, possession, and sale of cannabis.  (Read more about California Cannabis Law.)

Voters in four additional states: Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and North Dakota endorsed initiatives either legalizing or expanding the use of marijuana for therapeutic purposes. 

Laws in twenty-nine states now recognize the medical use of cannabis, while eight states permit marijuana adult use and retail sale.

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Public Support for Legal Marijuana Use Up to 60% in US

Marijuana Gallup Poll

With voters in several states deciding whether to legalize the use of marijuana, public support for making it legal has reached 60% — its highest level in Gallup’s 47-year trend.

Those ages 18 to 34 (77 percent), Independents (70 percent), and Democrats (67 percent) were most likely to endorse legalization in the Gallup poll.  Support was weakest among Republicans (42 percent) and those age 55 or older (45 percent).

When Gallup first asked this question in 1969, 12% of Americans supported the legalization of marijuana use.  In the late 1970s, support rose to 28% but began to retreat in the 1980s during the era of the “Just Say No” to drugs campaign.  Support stayed in the 25% range through 1995, but increased to 31% in 2000 and has continued climbing since then.

In 2013, support for legalization reached a majority for the first time after Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.  Read more about the Marijuana Gallup Poll.