The Cannabis Legalization Movement Has More Public Support Than Ever

More Americans support cannabis legalization than ever, and this is making state governments more likely to legalize it for recreational and medicinal use. In fact, 65% of Americans support the federal legalization of recreational marijuana. This is up from 45% in April 2013 and a mere 27% in July 1979! Also, a poll found that 83% of Americans support medical marijuana.

Certain Groups Of People Are More Likely To Be In Favor Of Legalization

One very encouraging piece of marijuana news is that cannabis legalization has bipartisan support, and 56% of Republicans and 72% of Democrats are in favor of it. Age group also plays a strong role when it comes to the support of cannabis legalization. In fact, 71% of millennials support it, but only 57% of Gen X and 56% of Baby Boomers do. Only 33% of the pre-baby boomer generation supports cannabis legalization.

What’s Driving The Increased Social Acceptance Of Marijuana?

It isn’t just marijuana users who support legalization. Cannabis is considered far safer than alcohol, and the general public is becoming aware of this. In fact, 51% of people polled said that they believe that alcohol causes more harm than cannabis, and a third of people polled said that they believe that they are equally harmful. Only 6% of people said that they believe cannabis is more harmful than alcohol.

Many people believe that legalizing cannabis is good for the economy, and this makes sense as legalized cannabis can be taxed and creates jobs. In fact, 52% of all Americans believe that cannabis legalization is good for the economy, and 65% of supporters of legalization hold this opinion.

There are many ways that the increase in tax revenue could be put to use, and it could even be used to lower income taxes. The increased revenue can also make it easier for governments to improve infrastructure, education, and support other government programs that help citizens.

Another interesting marijuana news statistic shows that more people have tried it than in the past. In fact, 55% of American adults have tried cannabis. However, only 38% of adults ever tried marijuana in a 2013 Gallup poll.

The general public also has become aware of the harsh penalties that cannabis users can face in some states. Increased awareness of how harsh cannabis laws can be is likely to drive more people to the ballot box to cast their votes in favor of legalization. Some states routinely place individuals who violate marijuana laws in jail, and people affected by these laws have criminal records that can make it difficult to get a job.

The General Public Is More Aware Of The Uses Of Medical Marijuana

People place a lot of trust in the safety of treatments that are endorsed by physicians, and the fact that cannabis is used medicinally shows has likely caused people to view it as a relatively safe substance as opposed to a harmful illegal drug. More than two million people in the United States use cannabis for a wide range of medical purposes.

Cannabis affects the whole body, and this makes it useful for dozens of different types of medical problems. New uses of cannabis are still being discovered due to increased research on marijuana. These are just a few of the numerous health problems that medicinal marijuana is used for:

– Nausea: Cannabis has powerful anti-emetic (fights nausea and vomiting) properties. This can be useful for people with certain health problems and those suffering from the side effects of chemotherapy.

– Problems With Appetite: For some people, the ‘munchies’ are not a side effect but the reason why cannabis is beneficial for their health. Cannabis increases appetite significantly in people who suffer from poor appetite due to the side effects of medications, chronic health problems, and anorexia.

– Chronic Pain: While prescription pain medications come with a laundry list of potential side effects and present the risk of addiction and overdose, cannabis does not. Many people have found that medicinal cannabis was able to control their chronic pain and allowed them to stop taking prescribed opiates.

– A Wide Range Of Mental Health Conditions: Cannabis has the ability to relieve anxiety and depression for many individuals. In some cases, it has been effective even when other treatments have failed. Unlike conventional anti-depressants and some medications for anxiety, cannabis will start working immediately and has few interactions with other drugs.

It may even be beneficial for some individuals who have more severe mental health conditions, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. That’s because the CBD that is abundant in certain strains of cannabis is thought to have antipsychotic properties.

– Crohn’s Disease: This illness causes inflammation in the digestive tract, and it can result in severe symptoms that can even require life-altering surgeries. Cannabis can reduce the chronic pain that’s associated with the disease and reduce the inflammation.

– Glaucoma: Cannabis can reduce the pressure of the fluid inside of the eye. This can help to fight the progression of the disease.

– Epilepsy: Strains of cannabis that tend to be higher in CBD are often highly beneficial for epilepsy sufferers, and it can even be effective in cases where traditional anti-seizure drugs failed. In fact, medical marijuana has been a lifesaving treatment for some individuals who suffer from chronic seizures.

How Has The Increased Popularity Of Cannabis Legalization Affected The Law?

Rallies for cannabis legalization have attracted large numbers of people, and they’ve probably had a strong impact. These legalization ballots show just how powerful of an impact public support can have:

– Colorado Amendment 64: This bill passed in 2012, and it legalized cannabis for recreational use. This bill passed with around 55% of the vote.

– California Proposition 64: California legalized recreational marijuana in 2016. This bill passed with 57% of the public’s vote.

– Alaska Measure 2: This bill legalized cannabis for recreational use in the state of Alaska in 2014, and the bill won with 53% of the vote.

– Massachusetts Question 4: This bill legalized marijuana for recreational purposes in 2016, and it passed with over 53% of the vote.

– Massachusetts Question 3: This law made medical marijuana legal in 2012, and it passed with 63% of the vote.

– Utah Proposition 2: Voters passed this bill during 2018, and it legalized medical marijuana in the state. Despite the fact that Utah is a strongly Republican-leaning state, the bill passed with more than 52% of the vote.

– Oklahoma State Question 788: Oklahoma has had some of the nation’s harshest laws against cannabis, but voters in the state recently passed a bill that legalized it for medicinal purposes. This bill passed with nearly 57% of the vote and only 43% of people voted against it.

– Maine Question 1: This bill legalized recreational cannabis in 2016, and it narrowly passed with a little over 50% of the vote.

What Can We Expect In The Future?

It’s likely that the legalization of marijuana will continue to gain more public support in the future, and this is likely to result in more encouraging marijuana news stories as new states legalize it. In addition, the increased social acceptance of cannabis is likely to mean that research on it will become even more commonplace in the future, and this is likely to allow doctors to create new, lifesaving treatments for patients that are derived from cannabis. Things move fast these days when it comes to the cannabis legalization movement, and this makes it more important than ever to stay up to date on the latest marijuana news.

References

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/18/83-percent-americans-favor-legalizing-medical-weed/

https://news.gallup.com/poll/163835/tried-marijuana-little-changed-80s.aspx

https://www.mpp.org/issues/medical-marijuana/state-by-state-medical-marijuana-laws/medical-marijuana-patient-numbers/

https://www.cheatsheet.com/culture/marijuana-legalization-survey.html/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/support-for-marijuana-legalization-hits-new-high-cbs-news-poll-finds/