New Pew Poll Confirms Americans Ready to End War on Drugs | Drug Policy Alliance
New Pew Poll Confirms Americans Ready to End War on Drugs | Drug Policy Alliance
A new national survey
released today by the Pew Research Center reveals that a broad majority
of Americans are ready to significantly reduce the role of the criminal
justice system in dealing with people who use drugs.
Among the key findings of the report:
More than six in ten Americans (63%) say that state governments moving
away from mandatory prison terms for drug law violations is a good
thing, while just 32% say these policy changes are a bad thing. This is a
substantial shift from 2001 when the public was evenly divided (47%
good thing vs. 45% bad thing). The majority of all demographic groups,
including Republicans and Americans over 65 years old, support this
shift.
At the same time, there has been a major shift in attitudes on whether
the use of marijuana should be legal. As recently as four years ago,
about half (52%) said they thought the use of marijuana should not be
legal; 41% said marijuana use should be legal. Today those numbers are
roughly reversed – 54% favor marijuana legalization while 42% are
opposed. Just 16% say it should not be legal for either medical or
recreational use.
Two-thirds (67%) say the government should focus more on providing
treatment for people who use drugs like cocaine and heroin. Just 26%
think the focus should be more on prosecuting people who use such drugs.
