According to the latest Pew Research Center survey, public opinion on marijuana legislation is even more favorable today.
The survey, which was conducted on Sept. 3 to 15 on Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel, has found that two-thirds of Americans are now supporting that marijuana should be legal and those who oppose legislation has fallen from 52% in 2010 to 32% today.
The survey hs also found that a majority of U.S. adults (91%) say marijuana should be legal either for medical while 59% say it should be legal for medical and recreational use. 32% believe that it should be legal just for medical use. Fewer than one-in-ten (8%) prefer to keep marijuana illegal in all circumstances, according to the survey.
The survey also found that there had been a wide partisan and generational difference. Nearly eight-in-ten Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (78%) say marijuana use should be legal. Republicans and Republican leaners are only 55% in favor of legalization and 44% are opposed.
Majorities of Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers are also in agreement that the use of marijuana should be legal. Members of the Silent Generation, those who were born between 1928 and 1945, are the least supportive of legalization with only 35% favor legalizing marijuana, while 64% are opposed.
In addition to asking respondents about whether marijuana use should be legal in general, the Center asked a separate group of respondents about legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational use. Almost six-in-ten Americans favor legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational use, while another 32% say it should be legal for medical use only. Only 8% say it should not be legal.
So far 11 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the drug for recreational purposes, and 33 states – plus the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands – have legalized the drug for medical purposes.