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For Immediate Release
April, 04 2013, 02:43pm EDT
Contact:
Mason Tvert, Dir. of Communications
720-255-4340, mtvert@mpp.org
New Pew Poll Finds Majority of Americans Now Support Making Marijuana Legal
Statement below from the nation's largest marijuana policy organization
WASHINGTON
The Pew Research Center announced today that, for the first time in its 40 years of polling on the issue, a majority of Americans (52%) support making marijuana legal. Just 45% said they think marijuana should remain illegal. Its report on the survey notes that a Gallup poll conducted in 1969 found just 12% supported making marijuana legal and 84% were opposed.
Pew's nationwide survey of 1,501 adults was conducted March 13-17. Detailed survey results are available at https://www.people-press.org/2013/04/04/majority-now-supports-legalizing-marijuana
Statement from Steve Fox, national political director for the Marijuana Policy Project:
"These results do not just represent a tipping point. With support for legalization among people under the age of 50 at close to 60 percent, this is more like the tip of the iceberg. Elected officials across the country need to listen to the people.
"Marijuana prohibition is a policy without a rational basis and without public support. It is time to regulate marijuana like alcohol so that we can generate tax revenues and focus law enforcement resources on real problems in our society."
The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is the number one organization in the U.S. legalizing cannabis. We passed 13 medical cannabis laws in the past 15 years, and we ran winning campaigns in eight of the 11 legalization states. No organization in the movement has changed as many cannabis laws, impacted as many patients and consumers, created as many new markets, or done more to end cannabis prohibition in the U.S. than MPP.
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