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Zogby poll: Growing numbers of Americans want pot regulated like alcohol PDF Print E-mail
Written by Chris Conrad   
East, West Coast voters back local option for cannabis sales

A national poll of likely voters found that nearly one out of two Americans support amending federal law "to let states legally regulate and tax marijuana the way they do liquor and gambling."

Patients and supporters rallied outside the Oakland federal building March 16 to protest federal DEA raids that hit medical patients, caregivers and providers in Riverside, Oakland and Emeryville. Photo by Mikki Norris
Patients and supporters rallied outside the Oakland federal building March 16 to protest federal DEA raids that hit medical patients, caregivers and providers in Riverside, Oakland and Emeryville. Photo by Mikki Norris

Forty-six percent of respondents to the Zogby International poll said they support allowing states to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol, with 49 percent opposed and five percent undecided.

However, majorities of 53 percent of respondents on the East Coast and 55 percent on the West Coast favor taxing and regulating cannabis as a local option.

"These poll results are a tremendous boost to our 'tax and regulate' campaign," said California NORML Director Dale Gieringer. "We included gambling because, unlike alcohol, it's something that isn't legal everywhere. That helped emphasize the local option aspect of the approach."

Respondents' support for marijuana law reform was strongly influenced by age and political affiliation. Nearly two-thirds of 18-29 year-olds (65 percent) and half of 50-64 year-olds think federal law should be amended to allow states the option to regulate marijuana, while majorities of 30-49 year-olds (58 percent) and seniors 65 and older (52 percent) oppose such a change.

"Public support for replacing the illicit marijuana market with a legally regulated, controlled market similar to alcohol — complete with age restrictions and quality controls — continues to grow," NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said. "NORML's challenge is to convert this growing public support into a tangible public policy that no longer criminalizes adults who use marijuana responsibly."

“The question wasn't about support for a particular paradigm. It was about whether people supported the feds changing law so that states could adopt such a policy if they wished,” noted Doug McVay, Director of Research at Common Sense for Drug Policy. “The question was about marijuana yet it was ultimately about states' rights.”

Among those respondents who identified themselves as Democrats, 59 percent back allowing taxed and regulated marijuana but only 33 percent of Republicans. Forty-four percent of Independents and 85 percent of Libertarians supported such a change.

Respondents' opinions were also influenced by religious affiliation. Nearly 70 percent of respondents who identified themselves as Jewish, and nearly 60 percent of respondents who said they were non-religious believe that states should regulate cannabis, while only 48 percent of Catholics and 38 percent of Protestants support such a policy.

The poll of 1,004 likely voters was commissioned by the NORML Foundation www.norml.org. A previous Zogby poll of 1,024 likely voters found that 61 percent of respondents opposed arresting and jailing non-violent marijuana consumers.

 
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