Support For Marijuana Legalization Hits New High, CBS News Poll Finds
(CBS NEWS) - Sixty-five percent of Americans now think marijuana should be legal — a record high in CBS News polling.
Most view marijuana as less harmful than alcohol and believe it is less dangerous than other drugs. Many opponents of legalization, however, think it leads to a rise in crime and most favor the federal government taking action to stop the sale of pot in states where it is currently legal.
Support for marijuana legalization has risen among some groups who have long been opposed to the idea.
More than half of Republicans (56 percent) now think marijuana use should be legal — the first time a majority of them has supported it in CBS News Polls.
And while older Americans — those ages 65 and over — remain the age group least likely to favor marijuana legalization, slightly more of them now favor it than oppose it.