CBS News Poll: Americans Oppose Legalizing Marijuana
Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at 6:36 pm | By: Radical Russ
A majority of Americans oppose legalizing marijuana and lowering the drinking age even if it would mean economic benefits for cash-strapped state and local governments, a new CBS News survey finds.
Fifty-eight percent of Americans say marijuana should be illegal, even after being presented with the idea that the drug could be taxed. Thirty-one percent say it should be legal, while another seven percent say it should be legal if it is taxed and the money goes to projects.
via Poll: Americans Oppose Legalizing Marijuana, Lowering Drinking Age | Political Hotsheet – CBS News.
Framing is everything. You see this headline: “Americans Oppose Legalizing Marijuana” You see this number: 58% say marijuana should be (I think they mean “remain”) illegal. It makes you think you are an outlier, a weirdo, a part of some fringe minority (of some 38% of Americans!) You could just as well say “Support for marijuana legalization increases 22% when opponents are told it could benefit state governments.”
As I sort through the CBS News / New York Times poll database, however, I found these results from the past:
- 1998: Do you think that the use of marijuana should be made legal or not? = 41%
- 1997: Do you favor or oppose legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use? = 26%
- 1994: Do you think possession of small amounts of marijuana should or should not be treated as a criminal offense? = 40%
- 1986: Do you think possession of small amounts of marijuana should or should not be treated as a criminal offense? = 36%
- 1979: Do you think that the use of marijuana should be made legal or not? = 27%
- 1978: Should the government restrict the sale of marijuana if it thinks it’s dangerous, or should it warn people and let them make their own decisions? = 41%
These numbers are all over the place. Do you really think only a quarter of Americans supported legal personal pot in 1997, then one year later jumped to 2 out of 5 supporting it in 1998? Do you really think that after twelve more medical marijuana states appeared between the 1998 poll and today that support for legalization dropped 3% points?
Regardless, I am still happy with the 38% support for legalization, for that fits well with the other polls this year showing support at 41%-44%. I am also reminded that West Coast support is well over 50% and that for the wall of prohibition to come tumbling down, only one state needs to legalize and the rest will follow. Prohibition was originally enacted one state at a time and that is how it will fall. The CBS News poll doesn’t provide any regional breakdown, so I’d encourage Katie Couric and crew to commission a California-only poll and see how that turns out.
Topics: CBS News
Interesting topic this is… Maybe if it was legalized, marijuana use would decrease because the illegality appeal would be gone. http://www.mindreign.com/en/mindshare/Health-and-Science/Mom-2c-Let-s-Try-Some-Pot/sl36962307bp407cpp10pn1.html has some interesting thoughts on the subject…
Hi just a thought on marajuana legalization, if hollywood would push the NORMl agenda in TV and film as it does the gay marrage (who cares) rant, then maybe a light bulb will illuminate the american voters. Just a thought since its up your alley Bill Maher
thx
When and where was this poll? Nobody asked me.
This argument deserves much more than an unsubstantiated nightly news poll run by a bunch of people too afraid for their jobs to actually challenge the status quo.CBS or any news outlet for that matter are subject to the opinions of their advertisers more than anything else.The chemical industry,oil industry and big Agribusiness have made it difficult to get anything remotely supportive of Cannabis in the news cycle and will continue to block efforts to legalize Cannabis for one simple reason
Forget about addiction or how Cannabis effects the brain big business doesn’t care about any of that.All these industries care about are PROFITS.They look at Cannabis as competition.
The compounds found in Marijuana are some of the most versatile chemical compounds found in any crop and can be used to produce a variety of products including products that are manufactured or grown by big business.I believe this is where the Cannabis movement should put it’s resources.By creating products that use Cannabis as it’s main component.
Medical use of Cannabis is a good start when seeking value for Cannabis.Of course no one wants to see patients suffer and the use of Cannabis to help alleviate suffering of fellow human beings should be proven effective through real scientific study and peer review like all medicines.
To attack the prohibition of Cannabis thoroughly the movement must show the population of this country the OTHER uses for Cannabis,specifically the use of Cannabis as a fuel source(the reason for Sen.Grassley’s argument)and return corn production back to feeding people like it should.When the American people see the many uses of Marijuana and it’s ability to take foreign oil out of the current supply of fuel they will see how moronic the prohibition really is.And that at the head of opposition groups are those very industries that feel threats to their bottom line and continue to use cooked statistics to maintain the status quo in regards to Cannabis’s legalization.
As I’m sure you know Cannabis has one of the highest ratings of cellulose content compared to other plant sources of cellulose,(Much more then the cellulose content in Sen. Grassleys corn.)When the American people see what Cannabis can do for our economic and energy resource problems in this country the argument against legalization will be difficult to justify.Those who continue to fight against Cannabis legalization will be looked at as obstructionist and will be pushed aside,something Sen.Grassley should keep in the front of his mind,his re-election chances may depend on it.
Nailed it. I love throwing out the hemp numbers in my talks with the unconverted – hemp is truly unassailable in any argument. Our opponents concerns over medical or social use of cannabis, though misguided, are at least grounded in some kernel of logic. We are talking about a consciousness altering substance, so society should have some interest in ensuring it is safe for the rest of us if some of us get high on it. It’s that whole “accepting alcohol and tobacco” along with the “inability to distinguish cannabis from heroin” part where they go off the rails.
But hemp? A fun way to argue with a prohibitionist is to ask simply, “why is hemp illegal?” They only have a few arguments, which are ridiculous to even my average anti-pot conservative rural Born Again Christian relatives (because I have some fun conversations ’round the holidays back in Idaho.)
Because cops won’t be able to distinguish hemp fields from pot fields! (I asked my county deputy sheriff cousin why he thought American cops were stupid. “How is it that Canadian, Australian, Chinese, and European police can easily tell a eighteen foot tall reedy brownish hemp plant from a nine foot tall green bushy pot plant, but American police can’t?”)
Pot growers will disguise their pot fields with hemp rows! (I asked my mom’s cousin who’s a farmer, “what happens when you plant rows of food corn along side rows of field corn?” “Ah, hell, you don’t wanna do that,” he said in that way he does when he addresses my hippie liberal city mouse no-calloused-hands self, “you’ll get lousy food corn and lousy field corn!” “Why?” I played dumb. “Because they’ll cross-pollinate!” “OK, now explain to me why the pot farmer producing high quality psychoactive buds wants to plant no-high-producing hemp plant anywhere near it?” Silence.)
Even though it’s low, hemp plants do have THC in them! (”The THC in hemp is lower than the alcohol proof in a near-beer and far lower than the alcohol proof of many common cold remedies. It is so low you truly cannot get high from it. Think about it. We have stuff made of 100% hemp.” I usually have my 100% pot leaf cap that I doff for effect. “If hemp could get you high I’d smoke my hat! Or a rope. Or a flag or a sail or the hemp rolling papers you can buy at the store!”)
So it is easy to expose that absurdity and get them to question why. Then I explain the corporate competition angle and they begin to realize the only reason for hemp’s prohibition is political, not practical. Then once I’ve set the hook, I start reeling them in. “Let me tell you about this new study showing cannabinoids to be useful at staving off Alzheimer’s disease…” plus some good ol’ fashioned Big Pharma and health insurance care bashing and we’re off to the races!
re: “Framing is everything. You see this headline: ‘Americans Oppose Legalizing Marijuana’”
Yes, framing is muy importante here. My pet peeve is use of the L-word (legalization). Prohibitionists have done a good job of equating “Legalization” with handing out crack to toddlers. Better to frame it in term of jailing adults. Like, “Are you in favor of jailing adults for using marijuana?” The L-word scares people.
You know what I don’t get, there was a nationally recognized and promoted poll that showed an overwhelming favor for the legalization of Marijuana. It was at Change.org and the poll was extremely legitimate, because everyone had to register with their address. Hmmmm… for some reason I think this poll was not so advertised. I wonder how many people voted in this CBS poll, compared to the… what was it….400,000 at change.org, I cant remember.
what we have to realize is that cbs is more of a right wing news network and vox CNN is more of a left wing. Basically what I take from these two reports together, is that most right wingers are for it and a good chunk of lefties are for it so alot of the population are ready and want it..
I agree, you know all the polls I have seen lately have been in overwhelming favor towards legalization, I wonder how public this poll was, I never heard of one, seems to me that this poll was put out to a select few people or may it just be this was a poll done in the station, now that wouldnt suprise me.
there was that CNN poll last week that said 95% want marijuana legalized