Cannabis Popularity in America Hits All-Time High

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap]ccording to a recent Gallup poll, American support for recreational cannabis is at its highest. The latest results indicate that 58 percent of Americans support the use of recreational cannabis. All age groups, excluding seniors, showed support for cannabis.

Gallup has monitored support for cannabis for 46 years. The first-ever Gallup poll in 1969 revealed only 12 percent of America wanted to see cannabis legalized. Cannabis popularity dropped 5 percent  in the early 80’s following the breakout of ‘Just Say No’ fever. The poll results tied with the 2013 results at 58 percent in favor of cannabis legalization, the highest it’s ever been.

Only the oldest of living Americans, born in 1935 or earlier, showed little change in their support for cannabis during their lifespan. Gallup contends that senior citizens 65 and older are currently the only demographic that opposed legal cannabis. Younger generations obviously favor legal cannabis the most. Seven out of 10 millennials favor legalization. Gallup has previously stated that the biggest differentiators of cannabis opinion are age and party identification. Republicans and senior citizens are the most likely to oppose cannabis. Nationwide support is evident with many age groups shifting 20 percent or more since 2000. Americans between 35 and 64 showed the biggest change.

Gallup stated, “These patterns by age indicate that one reason Americans are more likely to support legal marijuana today than they were in the past is because newer generations of adults, who are much more inclined to favor use of the drug, are replacing older generations in the population who were much less inclined to want it to be legalized.” This is a clear indicator that times are changing.