A majority of Republicans now support legalizing weed


Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, but a new Gallup poll suggests that American support for the drug's legalization is higher than ever before — no pun intended.
The recent survey places support for marijuana legalization at 64 percent. That number has skyrocketed since Gallup began polling on the issue in 1969; for reference, only about 35 percent of Americans supported legalization in 2004.
Even Republicans support legalization in record numbers. The most recent Gallup poll found that 51 percent of Republicans believe that marijuana should be legalized, a significant uptick from 42 percent in 2016 and an even bigger one from around 20 percent on 2004.
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Legalization at the state level may be informing overall public opinion on the issue. Seven states and the District of Columbia have fully legalized marijuana, while 29 states have passed broad laws concerning legalization.
Members of the Trump administration, including Attorney General Jeff Sessions, have come out against marijuana usage. It is unclear whether public opinion will have any effect on the White House's stance.
Gallup's most recent data was collected over the phone from 1,028 adults between Oct. 5 and 11. The poll has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
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Elianna Spitzer is a rising junior at Brandeis University, majoring in Politics and American Studies. She is also a news editor and writer at The Brandeis Hoot. When she is not covering campus news, Elianna can be found arguing legal cases with her mock trial team.q
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