From 2000 to 2019, the share of Americans stating cannabis must be legal more than doubled. There have long been age and partisan distinctions in views about marijuana, and that stays the case today. Extremely few grownups of any age are totally opposed to the legalization of marijuana. Nevertheless, older adults are far less most likely than youths to favor cannabis legalization for leisure usage.
Among younger adults, there is wider support for legalization for medical and leisure uses, consisting of 70% of adults under age 30. Republican politicians are more wary than Democrats about legislating marijuana for leisure usage: 47% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents favor legalizing marijuana for both medical and recreational usage, while an additional 40% state it must only be legal for medical usage.
Ideological distinctions are obvious within each celebration. About Additional Info -in-ten conservative Republicans (39%) say cannabis needs to be legal for medical and recreational use, compared with a 60% majority of moderate and liberal Republican politicians. Nearly two-thirds of conservative and moderate Democrats (63%) say cannabis should be legal for medical and recreational use.
There likewise are racial and ethnic differences in views of legislating marijuana. About two-thirds of White (63%) and Black (65%) adults state cannabis needs to be legal for medical and leisure use, compared with smaller shares of Hispanic (52%) and Asian adults (43%). While both Republicans and Democrats vary greatly on whether cannabis must be legal for medical and recreational usage, there are likewise age divides within each party.
Nevertheless, just about a quarter of Republicans 65 and older (27%) say cannabis ought to be legal for both. Still, wide majorities of Republicans in all age groups prefer legalizing marijuana for medical usage. Even amongst Republicans 65 and older, just 12% state making use of cannabis must not be legal.
About three-quarters of Democrats ages 18 to 29 (78%) prefer legislating marijuana for both medical and leisure usage, while 64% of those 65 and older state the exact same. Approximately equivalent shares of Democrats ages 30 to 49 (73%) and 50 to 64 (70%) state marijuana needs to be legalized for medical and recreational use.