10th poll in two years shows majority favor legal MJ

At least 10 national polls since mid-2014 have now found a majority of Americans favor legalizing cannabis.

The latest, from Quinnipiac University, was released Monday morning. It found that overall 54% of U.S. voters believe marijuana should be legalized, while an overwhelming 89% support legalizing cannabis for medical use.

From May 24-30, Quinnipiac surveyed 1,561 registered voters nationwide with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac poll underscores one of the reasons that many in the legal cannabis industry are extremely confident heading into the 2016 election season, which could see as many as nine states vote on legalizing either medical or recreational marijuana.

And, as one cannabis industry executive tweeted on Monday, it’s a great visual when put in the context of how many polls have shown majorities backing the end of cannabis prohibition.

The Quinnipiac findings have followed a general trend of cannabis acceptance in recent years, with poll after poll finding similar results: that a slight majority of Americans are okay with adult use, while roughly nine in 10 want MMJ legalized. While recreational support has ranged from 51% to 61%, MMJ support generally falls in the mid- to upper-eighties.