68 percent of Louisianans support decriminalizing marijuana use and possession according to a new poll, a nine percent increase from last year.
JMC Analytics pollster John Couvillon said support for legalization cuts across all partisan, racial, and gender lines.
“Whether you are talking about Republicans, evangelicals, people in more rural parts of the state, and so forth there was overwhelming support for the concept of legalization,” said Couvillon.
The only demographic group that consistently opposes legalization is those over the age of 65.
Couvillon said one good reason why support jumped so drastically this year likely has to do with the state’s legalization of medicinal marijuana.
“I think that once people have seen that aspect of marijuana usage, that removes a significant amount of the stigma right here,” said Couvillon who added another reason: The Regan era “Just Say No” campaign has faded from memory.
Couvillon said this widespread support for decriminalization and legalization hasn’t translated into successful legislation.
“I found that public attitudes about marijuana legalization and permissible use of marijuana have been much more favorable than rhetoric from elected officials would lead you to believe,” said Couvillon.
The poll features responses from 1,160 individuals with a margin of error of 2.9 percent.
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