You read that right. Legalizing marijuana for recreational use by adults has more widespread support than President Obama's administration. Pot legalization is also more popular than the recent health care bill that passed in Congress and has higher approval ratings than our handling of the Global War on Terror.
Surprised? You may have heard of the widely publicized AP/CNBC poll (released on 4/20) that claimed 55% of Americans are opposed to ending prohibition. While it is true that 55% said "oppose" when asked "Do you favor, oppose or neither favor nor oppose the complete legalization of the use of marijuana for any purpose?" Raw Story noted that:
"...a more nuanced probing of the issue, carried out by the polling firm but almost entirely unmentioned in the media on April 20th, found that when stacked next to alcohol, often a more debilitating and addictive substance, statistical support for drug law reforms skyrocketed."
On page four of AP/CNBC's poll report, respondents were asked if they thought the U.S. should treat marijuana and alcohol similarly. 44% thought that marijuana shouldn't be treated any differently than alcohol, while another 12% even wanted less strict rules for marijuana than for alcohol- making a whopping 56% in favor of pot legalization.
Just how does 56% approval for marijuana legalization stack up against other issues in the United States today? On the same day that the poll results were released (and distorted by multiple major news outlets) Rasmussen showed Obama's approval rating at just 49%, a statistically significant gap. More Americans approve of legalizing marijuana than they do President Obama's administration.
But that's not all. More American voters believe we should legalize pot than believe that we are winning the War on Terror. A poll released by Rasmussen on April 24th shows only 42% of voters believe the United States and its allies are winning the War on Terror- 14% fewer than the number of Americans who believe marijuana should be treated just like alcohol if not even more leniently.
And even though it passed through Congress, the new health care law does not enjoy a majority of support, with an April Gallup poll showing that only 45% of Americans think it is "a good thing that Congress passed this legislation." That's 11% less than the number of Americans who support reforming our drug laws to treat marijuana equally or less strictly as alcohol.
And with only 32% of American adults confident that policymakers know what they're doing about the economy, it would seem that one of the few things more Americans agree on than legalizing pot- is that our legislators are already smoking it.
