It’s official: A majority of Americans think the drug war is a loser, that the country has a serious drug abuse problem, and that marijuana should be legalized.
That’s the result of a new national poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted earlier this month. Overall, 68% of respondents said the War on Drugs is a failure, 70% said they believe America “has a serious drug abuse problem which affects the entire country,” and 53% said they support legalizing marijuana.
Notably, the assessment that the drug war is a failure was shared by all respondents, regardless of political affiliation or geographic location – 67% of Dems and Republicans and 76% of independent voters said the war is a loser. And while more than half of survey respondents said they favor legalizing marijuana, the vast majority said they would oppose legalizing other drugs, including cocaine, ecstasy, heroin and methamphetamine. (With 8% in favor, powder cocaine and ecstasy won the most support for legalization.) Fully 61% of Dems, 43% of Republicans and 55% of independents said they support marijuana legalization.
The results of the Angus Reid survey are similar to the results of a Zogby poll conducted in May, with 52% of respondents saying they support legalization and tax-and-regulation of pot.
This article appears in December 11 • 2009.