Polls: Marijuana legalization gaining steam nationally and in MA

Two new polls show cannabis gaining major ground with U.S. voters, with one finding that 60% of Americans want marijuana legalized and another discovering 55% support in Massachusetts for a ballot measure that would legalize recreational cannabis.

The national poll, by Gallup, represents the broadest support for cannabis legalization in the United States since Gallup began asking voters about it in 1969. That year, support registered at 12%, the Washington Post reported.

It’s also an increase from a poll released a week ago, by the Pew Research Center, which found that 57% of American adults back legalization.

The Massachusetts study, however, could have more immediate significance, given the state’s voters will decide whether to legalize adult-use marijuana on Election Day next month.

That study, conducted by MassINC Polling, found that only 40% of voters are opposed to Question 4, the ballot measure that would legalize rec MJ in the state. Those numbers suggest that the pro-marijuana campaign there has been gaining ground in recent months, considering that at least two other polls in September showed the initiative ahead by a slim margin.