A new CBS poll indicates that more than half of Americans have experimented with cannabis.
This is a significant eight percentage point increase from last year’s poll, in which 43 percent of Americans admitted to having tried marijuana. Cannabis use appears to remain most popular among men and citizens under the age of 65.
The poll also found that 56 percent of Americans believe that marijuana should be made legal, a rise of three points from the last time CBS posed the question. Support for cannabis reform continues to be most popular among male voters and voters under the age of 65. The legalization issue also remains split along party lines, with the majority of Democrats in support of legalization and the majority of Republicans opposed.
Legal access to medical marijuana continues to enjoy wide support: nearly nine out of ten Americans believe doctors should be allowed to prescribe small amounts of cannabis if they believe it would be beneficial.
Most Americans believe that legalization should be a states rights issue, and that the federal government shouldn’t play a role regarding the legality of cannabis.
The general poll results list a four point margin of error, and the poll was conducted April 8-12 using a random sample of 1,020 adults from around the country.