USA: Recreational Weed Laws Seen A Success
YouGov asked more than 32000 Americans if they think recreational cannabis legislation has been more or less a success or failure in states that have legalized it. In many states where recreational cannabis is legal, a large number of citizens believe these laws have been more successful than unsuccessful overall.
Balance by States
This conviction is particularly strong in Colorado, where citizens were among the first to vote for recreational weed in 2012. Today, around a quarter (26%) of Coloradians say that recreational cannabis laws at the level of the 'States have been “a success” and another 45% say they have been “more of a success than a failure”. Less than one in five (17%) think that these laws have been “rather a failure”.
While decriminalization and medical approval became popular in the 1970s and 1990s, recreational herb was not legalized anywhere in the United States until 2012. Today, recreational use is legal in 11 states. : Washington, Oregon, Nevada, California, Colorado, Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Alaska and Vermont and other states are planning to legislate this year.
About two thirds of the inhabitants of Oregon (69%) and Massachusetts (67%) believe the laws have been more effective. This remains the majority opinion among those who live in Washington (65%), at Nevada (64%), in California (59%), in Illinois (59%) and at Michigan (56%).
Michigan and Illinois are the only states in the Midwest where recreational marijuana is legal, and these are the most recent additions to the list. Michigan became the 10th state to legalize recreational marijuana after residents approved it in the 2018 midterm election. Illinois became the 11th state after its government approved recreational cannabis for adults over 21 during the 2019 legislative session. The state began selling recreational marijuana in January.
Le Maine is the only state surveyed where less than half (47%) consider the laws to be more effective. About one in nine Maine residents say the laws have been “successful”. About a third (37%) see the laws as a success rather than a failure. One in five (20%) believes that laws have generally been more of a failure, and a third (33%) is unsure.
