Pubdate: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 Source: Chicago Tribune (IL) Copyright: 2013 Chicago Tribune Company Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/IuiAC7IZ Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82 Author: Josh Voorhees, Slate U.S. MAJORITY SUPPORTS MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION For the first time since Gallup began asking the question more than four decades ago, a clear majority of Americans now say they support the legalization of pot. There was a small blip in 2011 when there was 50-46 pro-pot split, although that plurality was within the poll's margin of error. The new poll's first-time majority is noteworthy enough, but the takeaway may be the fact that support for legalization climbed a full 10 points from last year to 58 percent, the largest year-to-year jump in the poll's history. Support for legalization among self-identified Democrats (65 percent) and Republicans (35 percent) remained largely the same as it was when the pollsters asked the question last year. The big change, however, is with self-identified independents, who saw their support climb 12 points to 62 percent. Two possible reasons for the overall uptick, according to Gallup: an increasing number of Americans who now admit that they've tried the drug, and pot advocates' success at the ballot box in the past year in Colorado and Washington state. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom