Pot poll first – majority of Americans support legalization

A new Gallup poll out Wednesday morning shows for the first time that a majority of Americans, 58 percent, supports the legalization of marijuana.

Photos: 25 facts about marijuana

Gallup says the number is a 10 percent increase over last year. The organization first started tracking the question in 1969 when just 12 percent of the county favored the legal use of the drug.

Although marijuana is considered an illegal drug by the federal government, 20 states plus the District of Columbia now allow it for medical use. Washington state and Colorado have passed legislation permitting recreational use.

News 8 compared the latest Gallup numbers with a News 8 Franklin and Marshall poll taken in February of this year. The F&M poll found that most Pennsylvanians are OK with medicinal marijuana use. But a majority of those surveyed, 55 percent, are still against legalization.

1 of 27 The 25 facts in this slideshow come from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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