Bill O'Reilly took a poll on legalizing weed. You'll never guess what happened next.

Bill O'Reilly took a poll on legalizing weed. You'll never guess what happened next.
(Image credit: Screen Shot/Bill O'Reilly.com)

When Bill O'Reilly issued a poll on his site about marijuana legalization, he probably didn't expect users to come out swinging for the pro-weed crowd. And yet, that's exactly what happened.

On July 28, Bill O'Reilly asked his site's visitors their opinions on "the move to legalize marijuana for recreational use." The poll had two answer choices: "It should be legal, like alcohol" and "Dangerous idea with many unintended consequences."

That's an echo of Bill O'Reilly's own statement on Monday night that "the legalization of marijuana is still full of unintended consequences." But after more than 68,000 people responded, 89 percent of those polled said that marijuana should be legalized, "like alcohol."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Now, it's possible O'Reilly's online poll got hijacked. Online polls are notoriously unreliable, because respondents are just whoever decides to click. Still, previous polls by Gallup and Pew have shown that a majority of Americans support legal weed, and seeing the data reinforced on a right-wing website really drives home the fact. Check out the screenshots of the poll, taken Thursday afternoon, below. --Meghan DeMaria

(BillOReilly.com)

(BillOReilly.com)

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Meghan DeMaria

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.