Pubdate: Fri, 05 Apr 2013
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2013 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
Author: David Lauter, Tribune Washington Bureau
Page: 8

MAJORITY SUPPORTS LEGALIZING POT

Poll Shows Change in Attitudes, Especially Among Baby Boomers, As Drug
Loses Stigma

WASHINGTON - A majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana, a
new poll indicates, with the change driven largely by a huge shift in
how the baby boom generation feels about the drug of their youth.

Adult Americans back legalization, 52 percent to 45 percent, according
to the survey released Thursday by the Pew Research Center. The
finding marks the first time in more than four decades of Pew's
polling that a majority has taken that position.

Two big shifts in opinion likely contribute to support for
legalization. Most Americans no longer see marijuana as a "gateway" to
more dangerous drugs or see its use as immoral. As recently as 2006,
half of respondents told Pew that marijuana use was "morally wrong."
Now, one-third do, while half say marijuana usage is "not a moral issue."

By an overwhelming margin, 72 percent to 23 percent, respondents said
the federal government's efforts against marijuana "cost more than
they are worth." Similarly, by a nearly 2-to-1 ratio, respondents said
the federal government should not enforce its anti-marijuana laws in
states that allow use of the drug.

The Obama administration has been vague on federal law enforcement in
states such as Washington and Colorado, which have legalized marijuana
for recreational use, or in California, which allows it for medical
use. Federal prosecutors in California have brought charges against
some sellers of medical marijuana.

In December, Attorney General Eric Holder acknowledged a "tension
between federal law and these state laws" and said a clarification of
federal policy would come "relatively soon." That has not yet happened.

So far, 24 states and the District of Columbia either have
decriminalized personal use of marijuana, legalized it or allowed it
to be used for medical purposes.

The poll suggests a shift in federal law may be slow. A notable
political split exists on the issue, with conservative Republicans
heavily against legalization, while majorities of Democrats,
independents, and liberal and moderate Republicans back it.

Still, advocates of legalization cheered the latest poll results.
States will almost certainly continue to move faster than Congress,
said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance,
which advocates legalization. "But this debate is going to open more
quickly now on Capitol Hill."

On two issues, opinion is more uniform than on legalization: the
belief that current enforcement efforts are not worth the cost, and
acceptance of the idea that marijuana has medical uses. By a margin of
77 percent to 16 percent, poll respondents said they agree on that,
with support for medical marijuana cutting across partisan and
generational lines.

The percentage of people who say they have used marijuana in the last
year (about 1 in 10) or at any point in their lives (about half ) is
virtually identical in states that have legalized some marijuana use
and those that have not, suggesting that more liberal laws have made
usage more visible, not increased it.

The main divisions on marijuana legalization are those of age: Younger
Americans back legalization more than their elders, although the poll
shows legalization gaining support among all generations. Among those
ages 30 to 49, parents are less likely to support legalization than
non-parents. Those with children 18 or younger at home are closely
divided, 50 percent to 47 percent, while those without children at
home support legalization, 62 percent to 35 percent.

The effect of parenthood may also be part of the most striking shift
in opinion - the change among baby boomers.

During the 1970s, when baby boomers were in their teens and 20s, a
plurality supported legalizing pot. But as they aged, boomers changed
their minds, with support for legal marijuana dropping to fewer than 1
in 5 by 1990, when they were in their 30s and 40s. The new

March 2013 poll shows 50 percent now support legalizing the
drug.

The Pew survey was conducted March 13-17 by telephone
among1,501American adults. The results have a margin of error of plus
or minus 2.9 percentage points.
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MAP posted-by: Matt