The Marijuana Law Tipping Point
Yesterday marked the first time in history that a nationwide poll showed majority support for taxing and regulating marijuana (at 52%). The poll, conducted by Zogby International at the end of April, was also one of the largest sample sizes of any national polls on the subject, with almost 4,000 respondents and a margin of error of +/- 1.6%.
This poll, in combination with recent trends, is further evidence that Americans are quickly realizing the value of taxing and regulating marijuana. Congress, however, is often slow to keep up. If you want to push Congress to act, visit mpp.org/federal-action, where MPP’s online system makes it fast and easy to ask your member of Congress to end 70 years of failed marijuana prohibition.
Looking beyond the top-line level of majority support to the cross tabulations, where support and opposition are shown among numerous variables, we can build a helpful profile of marijuana legalization supporters:
Age: Taxing and regulating marijuana enjoys majority support across every age group except for the over-65 crowd, which registers 44% support.
Region: Voters in the East (52%) and West (60%) are more likely than voters in the South (48%) or the Midwest (48%) to support taxing and regulating marijuana.
Culture: Those who never shop at Wal-Mart (72%) are more than twice as likely to support marijuana legalization than regular Wal-Mart shoppers (35%). NASCAR fans (38%) are significantly less likely to support it than non-fans (54%).
Religion: Jewish voters (76%) were more likely than Catholics (47%) or Protestants (45%) to support legalizing marijuana. Voters who consider themselves “born again” (33%) are far less likely to support it than voters who are not “born again” (55%).
Party affiliation: Democratic Party members are the most likely to support legalizing marijuana (68%), with Independents showing strong majority support (54%). Liberals (79%) are the most likely to support it, with moderates (58%) trailing by 21 points and conservatives (25%) trailing fully 54 points behind liberals.
Presidential election: Those who voted for President Obama (69%) were much more likely to support legalizing marijuana than McCain voters (30%).
Tagged with: polls and Tax and Regulate by the author
20 comments
First FTW.
I’d start singing and dancing because of the anticipation… But I’d rather chill out with a J and watch it all happen. Singing and dancing takes too much energy for now.
Cannabis FTW.
This is great news!
Can you provide a link to the Zogby poll? Thanks in advance
This was one poll that always showed the lowest support. You would think an imidiate response should be neccesary. Now it’s pretty much official that anyone being arrested for marijuana, is being arrested with minority support. Is that even Legal? Can our Government put the “People VS” on court documents now? You would think political LAG should not happen in matters that pertain to LAW. There should be an immediate cease and assist on the current marijuana Laws. 47% arresting 52% is not democracy.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we voted for Obama and things went pretty good with new policy being enforced to protect patients.
My Dear Californians, anyone in California please let us all know here at our favorite blog, who the very first marijuana customer for personal use of marijuana will be, once the Bill passes of course.
I believe Tennessee is going to have to wait for legalization at 48% approval, a longer time than East or West Coast Americans. Numbers don’t lie, depressingly accurate survey.
You can discribe a Tennessee MPP Activist in three words, “Work, Work, Work.” : )
HOLY-HEMP YOU MEAN I MISSED THE POLL I WOULD HAVE VOTED TO BUT I MUST HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THAT BIG ASS BOB MARLEY JOINT I WAS ROLLING,OH WELL WE NEED TO HAVE A TRUE STONER MEETING WHEN I WAKE UP. THIS ISSUE IS A REAL BIG DEAL NOW WE JUST NEED OBAMA TO LISTEN TO WHAT COULD BE A TRUE LIFE SAVER FOR THIS COUNTRY ,OBAMA IF YOUR READING GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT AND WE WILL GO AWAY ,OR KEEP ON LAUGHING AND WHATCH THIS COUNTRY CRUMBLE WHILE THE OTHER COUNTRIES FLURISH WITH WEALTH LIKE WE ALL HAVE SEEN IN MEXICO IT IS AMERICA THE WEAK MINDED GOVERNMENT.!
[...] New Zogby poll: majority of Americans (52%) now in favor of legalization The Marijuana Law Tipping Point — MPP Blog thats a link to the MPP blog…good stats on the zogby [...]
Only a few months till super majorit. But I’m still not sure what will happen then. Mabe the press will cover it up like always. Or perhaps there will be some great migration in political thought?
these polls are great and all but you all must realize, the federals government will have to be dragged kicking an screaming to sign this law we want. They don’t want people to feel we have a voice. After all , If we can change this one law they know we will force them to change everything they do that ..WE THE PEOPLE..don’t approve of. They are drunk with money and power and wont giove it up unless they are forced to listen. They are still ignoring the fact that we know the lies now and will continue to do so. They will try to say,” these people (pot smokers)are criminals and don’t get a vote. I mean Obama has already tried to villianize the “ONLINE ” crowd.
An important question is going to be how to tax personally cultivated marijuana so the money can flow to the public treasury and the rebuilding of America?
The gang violence and destruction of public lands caused by criminals operating outside of the prohibition laws would end if individuals could legally grow a few plants of their own at home.
One approach: support a personal use and cultivation permit, for example $100 for twelve plants, with the revenue split between the Federal and State governments.
Let’s let ordinary Americans grow a little marijuana in their own backyards and put the criminal cartels out of business.
as for the personal cultivation taxation, the solution is to provide affordable, quality cannabis to be sold like alcohol, as long as the price is affordable the majority of people will not go through the trouble and cost of growing their own. You can brew beer in your basement with a kit bought at the grocery store but you dont see the government feeling the need to tax it because most people dont feel the need to produce it when you can quality stuff is redily available. Personally I dont see anything wrong with cultivation permits, I do think that if its priced appropriately there won’t be a need. If the purpose of legalization is to end the violence and crime associated with cannabis the final price for the legal weed would have to be kept low enough or there will always be an underground black market for it.
Linked over on Kos.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/5/8/729210/-4-20-contact-buzz-still-has-nation-flying-high
Jamaste
Now with this said we are the majority why is it that the decission of the majority be heard majority rules in my country yes or no
This was the response from our PA rep. The usual lies. I hate my reps. I am going to organize and get these non supporting reps outsteaded!
Mr. Snyder:
Thank you for contacting by office with your interest in House Bill 1393, which would provide for the medical use of marijuana and repeal those provisions of law that prohibit and penalize marijuana use. I appreciate knowing your views on this controversial issue.
I do not support the legalization of marijuana to treat medical conditions. Marijuana use is illegal under both federal and Pennsylvania state law. Even if the General Assembly were to pass House Bill 1393, marijuana use to treat medical conditions would still violate federal law. As such, I cannot support this legislation.
Again, thank you for contacting my office with your interest in this issue. If you have any other state-related questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
JEFFREY E. PICCOLA
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1448822
Please watch this.
Here it is in a nut shell, the truth about weed is out there now, people know the lies. Now we have the opportunity to stop the cash flow to cartels and gangs and put it to good use . The thing is our drug warriors are so worried about losing their jobs they would rather continue to ruin the lives of Americans through arrests. They would rather let the money go to these gangs and cartels. This in turn gives them more work at the borders and in our cities fighting gangs and cartels. This is very petty and selfish. They allow the ruination of Americans, allow the deterioration of society(tearing families apart due to arrests) , they allow our civil right to be eroded there by removing our freedoms and giving the government even more control of our lives. When will it end? Damn soon I hope. I for one am sick of seeing the many suffer for the comfort and idealology of a few….
pot is easy. the people that use it are generally more passive than other illegal drugs, it is bulky to carry and make the same profit as other illegal drugs. it is a slam dunk for prohibitionists, you don’t have to work that hard to make a bust and you look like your really being productive. you don’t see agents fly around, parachuting from the sky to bust meth, you really don’t hear about that at all. they probably don’t even try that hard to stop drugs that kill people. you ever notice the penalties for using marijuana are the only real problem with the drug.
When a government has to spend billions of dollars of our hard earned money on propaganda and deceitful evidence to justify its actions. It is inherently wrong. Our government was founded on the Idea that each man is born with certain unalienable rights. Life liberty and the pursuit of happiness being the core of these rights. and that our government is charged with the defense of these rights. and empowered solely to that end. When our government passes laws which serve only the interest of corporations like the pharmaceutical and probation companies simply because they know that the average man can not afford to fight for his rights in a court system that is already stacked against him. Then that government has become corrupt and immoral. According to the very articles to which our government was founded no man has the right to tell me what I can or can not put into my body. As a result of an accident I suffered in the past I am forced to live with constant pain. And as long as I do not impose on my neighbor or bring harm to another person, I have the right to fight my pain in any way I see fit in order to preserve my well being and happiness. Any law enacted contrary to that end is in its self wrong and without merit.
Our government has a long and shameful history of enacting laws which discriminate against those it sees as being outside of its idea of political correctness. Woman were once burned at the stake for witch craft. Men, woman and children were once sold into slavery. And faced having their toes chopped off or even death for daring to seek freedom. Americans were once rounded up and had their homes and all their worldly goods and lands taken from them and set to walking on what would come to be known as the trail of tears because of the thousands who died along that shameful death march. Americans were once rounded up and had their homes and liberties taken from them when they were thrown into internment camps because their families had been born Japanese. Americans once had their skulls bashed in simply because they drank from the wrong water fountain. Americans once had their lives destroyed by a powerful man named McCarthy and his cronies simply because the may have attended a communist party meeting.
The list goes on and on and the only constant in all this is that the only way these cruelties are finally stopped is after enough victims have been sacrificed on the alter of American justice. Our countries population is only the fifth largest in the world. Yet we have more laws on the books than any country in recorded history. We imprison more of our citizens than any other country. and sixty-five present of those in prison are there for none violent drug offenses. But yet our government continues to fight a war it has already admitted to loosing all for the profit of the few. At the cost of liberty for the many.
hi guys, well the news ive been seening goin around, is that there useing marijuana to treat the “Swine FLU” aka H1N1 Flu”
No joke they are using marijuana to treat swine flu, now it doesnt cure it but it reduces the symptoms to a common cold, and not death.. so it reverses the effects and reduces the serverity of the flu….
http://sparkreport.net/2009/04/cannabis-science-inc-offers-marijuana-treatment-for-swine-flu/
Here’s a fun personal fact: How many people do I know that have gotten sick from smoking marijuana? Alcohol? 0:23. How many people do I konw that have died from smoking and driving or from THC poisoning? Drunk driving & Alc. poisoning? 0:3. How many regrettable tattoos have I got while smoking marijuana? While drinking? 0:3. Point proven I believe, see marijuana is 100 times more lethal than alcohol and the sooner you realize that and legalize “weed” the sooner that the U.S.A will be a much better, less crime-ridden place. Thank you all for listening.
Personal Note: typing marijuana is hard
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