Most American citizens want President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to keep their noses out of state marijuana laws, according to a new poll from Survey USA.
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The poll, which was commissioned by the national cannabis advocacy group Marijuana Majority, found a whopping 76 percent of the adults living in the United States want the Trump administration to respect state marijuana laws. This marks the strongest showing of support for legal weed since a Quinnipiac poll (73 percent) was published earlier this year.
As it stands, more than half the nation has legalized the leaf in some form or fashion. Nearly 30 states have made it legal for people to use marijuana for medicinal purposes, while another nine jurisdictions have moved to end pot prohibition altogether. Yet, despite increasing support for marijuana reform in all parts of the country, the Trump administration has given some indication that it may no longer allow it to continue.
It was revealed in the spring that Sessions had assembled a violent crime task force to conduct a review of federal policy pertaining to marijuana. There is speculation that the outcome of this report, which is due on Session’s desk by the end of next month, could lead to a reversal of an Obama-era rule that allows states to experiment with legalization. To make matters worse, Sessions was caught recently trying to persuade Congressional leaders to no longer support the only protection (Rohrabacher-Farr) the cannabis industry has in place to stop the federal government from imposing a crackdown.
“It’s clear that Jeff Sessions and the Trump administration would face a huge backlash from across the political spectrum if they broke the president’s campaign pledge to respect state marijuana policies and started arresting consumers and providers who are following local law,” Tom Angell, founder and chairman of Marijuana Majority, said in a statement. “The more the attorney general threatens to ramp up federal enforcement, the more public opinion seems to harden against his outdated ‘Reefer Madness’ mindset.”
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the poll is it finds that most of the American population no longer cares is professional athletes, journalists or gun owners use marijuana. Across the board, the survey found close to 50 percent support for these people being allowed herbal relief without the risk of repercussions at work or otherwise.
“The other results show that while most voters generally think that cannabis consumers should be able to enjoy the same rights to employment, enjoyment and personal protection as everyone else does, our movement still has some work to do,” Angell said. “The fact is, even when we succeed in removing marijuana criminalization, consumers continue to face discrimination from the private sector and the government, and it seems like a lot of people just aren’t aware of that.”
The latest poll consisted of 1,500 cell and landline calls made between June 19 and 20.
