Marijuana

An initiative that will make it legal for adults to possess up to one ounce of marijuana will be on the November 2010 ballot.  Respondents are divided about legalizing small amounts of marijuana (44% yes, 55% no) but the issue is not polarizing.  The majority of Republicans (64%) are opposed, in contrast to majorities of Democrats (56%) and “Decline to state” and others (59%) in favor of legalizing an ounce or less. Omitting “Don’t knows,” the largest proportions in each age group except 55 to 64-year-olds are opposed.  Among those 55 to 64, however 56% favor and 44% are opposed.  It is difficult to understand why this is the case. Some have suggested that these individuals are “retired hippies” who, as members of the Woodstock generation, did inhale or who find the arguments for medical marijuana persuasive and appealing as they age (or both). Others suggest that the initiative enjoys less support among younger groups who were the targets of anti-drug messages such as Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” and programs such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE). Still others say that marijuana has been replaced by alcohol and other narcotics as the “drug of choice” and that younger groups (18-34) are simply ambivalent about the issue.