Doh! Pot prohibitionists conduct poll, learn Americans prefer legalization

A poll recently conducted by anti-pot group Smart Approaches to Marijuana found that only a small minority of Americans agree with the federal government’s current prohibitionist approach to marijuana laws.

The Hill reported:

Half of Americans now support alternatives to full legalization of recreational marijuana use, according to a new poll following the Justice Department’s decision to change the federal law enforcement policy on the drug.

A new poll by Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy found that that 49 percent of likely voters support full legalization of marijuana, while 50 percent support alternative measures such as decriminalizing possession of the drug or allowing it for medical reasons.

“This poll shows that we need to move beyond this false dichotomy between prohibition and legalization, especially for individual users,” said Kevin Sabet, the president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said of the poll results.

“These results clearly indicate the oft-touted vast public support for marijuana legalization has a shakier foundation than marijuana investors would have you believe. This should give pause to politicians and marijuana financiers alike,” Sabet said.

Not so fast, says Reason’s Jacob Sullum, who dug deeper into the poll results.

Mason Dixon Polling & Strategy, the firm hired by SAM, asked 1,000 respondents which of four policies “best describes your preference on national marijuana policy.” Sixteen percent chose “keep the current policy,” while 29 percent preferred to “legalize the use of marijuana for physician-supervised medical use.” Only 5 percent wanted to “decriminalize marijuana use by removing the possibility of jail time for possession and also allowing for medical marijuana, but keep the sale of marijuana illegal.” Forty-nine percent were ready for full legalization, saying the federal government should “legalize the commercial production, use and sale of marijuana for recreational use, as they have done recently in several states.”

Sullum also noted: “What SAM’s poll actually found is that federal marijuana prohibition is extremely unpopular.”

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