Three recent polls conducted by the BBC, Time Magazine, and the Internet news journal IntellectualCapital.com demonstrate overwhelming public support for marijuana reform.
Ninety-six percent of respondents to a July 28 BBC telephone poll answered that marijuana should be legalized for medical purposes. The two American polls examined the broader issue of reforming criminal penalties against marijuana and other illicit drugs. Over 90 percent of respondents to the Time Magazine survey answered that the government should legalize marijuana and other “recreational” drugs for adults only. More than 80 percent of respondents to the IntellectualCapital.com poll said that legalizing marijuana and other drugs would be their “next step … in America’s ‘war on drugs.'”
Allen St. Pierre, executive director of The NORML Foundation, said that the polls’ outcomes were not surprising. “These results demonstrate that a significant portion of the public strongly disapprove of arresting and jailing marijuana smokers, and approve of the medical use of marijuana under the supervision of a licensed physician,” he said.
For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of The NORML Foundation @ (202) 483-8751.
