Marijuana reform is a very popular public issue right now across the world, and Britain is no exception. A survey was released recently which found that a majority of Britons want to legalize marijuana. While the survey didn’t go into great detail, it did find the following, per The Guardian:
The vast majority of those advocating a change to the legal status of drugs do not advocate a blanket treatment of all drugs; only 3% believe that all of them should be either legalised or decriminalised. Indeed, for many people the issue appears to be primarily focused on the legality of marijuana, which 88% of those advocating change believe should be legalised or decriminalised. In total, 52% of all Britons believe we should follow the example of Colorado and Washington and legalise the sale and possession of marijuana for both medical and non-medical use.
Those aged 25-34 are most likely to support this (60%) but it is significant that 45% of those aged 65 or older (who tend to be the most conservative in their attitudes to drugs-related issues) concur. It is also interesting that 43% of people who have never taken drugs believe marijuana should be legalised (this rises to 73% among drug users). Support for a change in law peaks in London and the south-east (57%) and men are more likely than women to support change (58% and 45% respectively).
I would love to see a poll that goes into more detail. Asking someone if they generically support marijuana legalization will get a much more favorable response than when details are added. What about a per se DUII limit? What about home cultivation? What should the possession limit be? How much should legal marijuana be taxed? Details like that change the results of a survey considerably. However, seeing that a majority of Britons agree that marijuana prohibition has failed is still a very significant thing, and it’s something that I hope people build on.
