Most Americans Want the Federal Government to Stay Out of State Marijuana Rulings

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

A large majority of Americans believe the United States government should stop harassing medical marijuana operations in states that have legalized such sales.

 

In a new Gallup survey, 64% of respondents said the federal government should cease enforcement of federal anti-marijuana laws in states where medical marijuana is legal.

 

Among those who say marijuana should be legal for recreational use, 87% agreed that the feds should butt out of legal medical marijuana efforts. And even 43% who oppose legalizing recreational marijuana feel state medical marijuana clinics should operate without harassment from federal law enforcement.

 

The same Gallup poll found that support for full legalization of marijuana continues to grow among Americans. In 1969 when Gallup first asked about legalizing pot, only 12% supported the idea. That percentage expanded to about a third of the population by 2005, and now it’s up to 48%, with 60% of those aged 18 to 29 favoring legalization.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

To Learn More:

Americans Want Federal Gov't Out of State Marijuana Laws (by Frank Newport, Gallup)

Marijuana Policy Project: New Polling ‘Makes It Clear’ Americans Want Feds to Let States Decide Pot Policy (by Stephen C. Webster, Raw Story)

Clarifying Federal Law on Marijuana…U.S. Can Insist that it is Illegal, but Can’t Force States to Enforce the Law (by Matt Bewig, AllGov)

Washington and Colorado Brace for Clash with Obama Justice Dept. over Legal Marijuana (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

Comments

Malcolm Kyle 11 years ago
Prohibition has cruelly ruined the lives of millions of peaceful and productive citizens while bankrolling the most evil people on the planet. Prohibition has stagnated the normal economy while allowing criminal enterprises to control an untaxed thriving underground economy worth over 300,000 million dollars. By it's emphasis on the eradication of marijuana/hemp we have also been denied the most workable and logical solutions to a number of growing problems, be they medicinal, industrial, chemical, or commercial. According to the CATO Institute, ending prohibition would save an annual $41 billion of expenditure while generating an estimated $46 billion in tax revenues. http://www.cato.org/pubs/wtpapers/DrugProhibitionWP.pdf Thanks to Prohibition, we now have a far higher percentage of our own citizens locked in cages than any other nation on the whole planet. Apart from the fact that these extra prisoners are not contributing economically to society, it also costs 50,000 dollars per annum to incarcerate them. Additionally, their families often go on government assistance, leaving the average tax payer to pick up the bill. Their kids may also be taken into care, or raised by foster parents—again with our money. Now add to all this: the court costs, jail costs, and the salaries of all those people that have to deal with the enforcement of prohibition—like police officers, judges and public defenders—and you'll start to get a fair idea of why "Black Thursday" (October 24, 1929) happened during the period of another of our great experiments: Alcohol Prohibition (1919-1933) * The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. * 743 adults incarcerated per 100,000 population at year-end 2009. * 2,292,133 adults were incarcerated in federal and state prisons, and county jails at year-end 2009—approximately 1% of US adults. * Additionally, 4,933,667 adults at year-end 2009 were on probation or parole. * In 2009, 7,225,800 adults were under correctional supervision (probation, parole, or incarcerated)—Approximately 3.1% of adults in the U.S. resident population. Chart Of The Day: Federal Drug Prisoners http://tinyurl.com/csfvb9n During alcohol prohibition, all profits went to enrich criminals and corrupt politicians. Young men died every day on inner-city streets while battling over turf. A fortune was wasted on enforcement that could have gone on education, etc. On top of the budget-busting prosecution and incarceration costs, billions in taxes were lost. Finally, the economy collapsed. Sound familiar?

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