Editor's Note: Studies are showing increasing support among Americans for marijuana legalization, but depending where you look, the numbers may be different. This Huffington Post article below, and many others, cite well-publicized Pew Research, which shows overall support for legalization at 53 percent. In March, however, Democratic-affiliated Benenson Strategy Group and SKDKnickerbocker released a report, “Beyond the Beltway,” that found 61 percent of Americans in favor of marijuana legalization, and 72 percent in favor of decriminalization.Â
The support for legalizing marijuana has grown rapidly over the last decade but the oldest Americans aren't ready to sign off on it yet. Four states and Washington, D.C. have passed measures legalizing marijuana, and today 53 percent of Americans favor legalization and 44 are opposed. In 2006, those numbers stood at 32 percent in favor of legalization and 60 percent opposed, according to a survey from Pew Research Center.
The numbers have grown because of support among Baby Boomers, the group that came after them, Generation Xers, and the most recent generation, Millennials (those 18 to 34).
Some 68 percent of Millennials, 52 percent of Gen Xers and 50 percent of Baby Boomers, those 51 to 69, support legalization.
