Pubdate: Thu, 05 Mar 2015
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2015 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.utsandiego.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386
Note: Seldom prints LTEs from outside it's circulation area.
Note: The Washington Post

SURVEY: MAJORITY BACK MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

WASHINGTON - For the first time, the General Social Survey - a large, 
national survey conducted every two years and widely considered to 
represent the gold standard for public opinion research - shows a 
majority of Americans favoring the legalization of marijuana.

In interviews conducted between March and October of last year - when 
the legal marijuana markets in Colorado and Washington were ramping 
up - researchers asked 1,687 respondents the following question: "Do 
you think the use of marijuana should be made legal or not?"

Fifty-two percent said pot should be legalized, 42 percent opposed 
it, and 7 percent were undecided. Support is up 9 percentage points from 2012.

The year 1990 represented the nadir of legalization support, when it 
stood at 16 percent. But the numbers rose steadily through the 1990s 
as states began adopting medical marijuana laws, starting with 
California in 1996. As recently as 2006, support stood only at 32 
percent - just a little bit higher than the previous peak in 1978.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom