Poll: Majority now say pot smoking should be legal
A majority of Americans now support legalizing marijuana use — the first time public support has crossed the 50 percent threshold, according to new polling from the Pew Research Center.
Pew found that 52 percent of Americans said marijuana use should be legal, compared to just 45 percent who said it should be illegal. The level of support has jumped 11 percentage points in the last three years.
Support is even higher among younger American adults, with nearly two-thirds of Millennials — those born since 1980 — supporting legalization. The findings cheered marijuana advocates, who said politicians need to follow voters’ lead.
“Not too long ago, it was widely accepted in political circles that elected officials who wanted to get re-elected needed to act ‘tough’ on drugs and go out of their way to support the continued criminalization of marijuana. The opposite is quickly becoming true,” said Tom Angell, chairman of Marijuana Majority.
The biggest change is support appears in recent years is a shift away from people viewing marijuana use as a moral issue. Just seven years ago, 50 percent said smoking pot was morally wrong. Now, only 32 percent say that, while a full 50 percent say pot use isn’t a moral issue one way or the other.
I'm afraid that the marijuana legalization issue may be being used as a cover for a new source of government revenue, as in you can have marijuana but you must buy it from major tobacco corporations and we will tax it to the hilt, don't try to grow it in your own yard.
I am also concerned about the issue of employment and drug use. So many employers require drug testing now and will we make it illegal for Walmart to refuse to hire marijuana users or will we have large numbers of people able to legally render themselves unemployable? I know, we have that now, but will it get worse? If you are able bodied but no employer will take you due to your continued consumption of a non-addictive substance do the rest of us have to provide you with support? As it stands right now, you could run afoul of the system at some point and then face some form of coercion to clean up your act enough to be able to support yourself.
I'm afraid that the marijuana legalization issue may be being used as a cover for a new source of government revenue, as in you can have marijuana but you must buy it from major tobacco corporations and we will tax it to the hilt, don't try to grow it in your own yard.
I am also concerned about the issue of employment and drug use. So many employers require drug testing now and will we make it illegal for Walmart to refuse to hire marijuana users or will we have large numbers of people able to legally render themselves unemployable? I know, we have that now, but will it get worse? If you are able bodied but no employer will take you due to your continued consumption of a non-addictive substance do the rest of us have to provide you with support? As it stands right now, you could run afoul of the system at some point and then face some form of coercion to clean up your act enough to be able to support yourself.
Hopefully if legalized employers will use common sense and do away with drug testing and only act if the employee comes in under the influence, pretty much like they do with alcohol. As far as it being taxed and so forth I think if sold in stores it can be subject to sales tax but I'm guessing states will get greedy and drive the sales back to the black market.
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
Hopefully if legalized employers will use common sense and do away with drug testing and only act if the employee comes in under the influence, pretty much like they do with alcohol. As far as it being taxed and so forth I think if sold in stores it can be subject to sales tax but I'm guessing states will get greedy and drive the sales back to the black market.
Good common sense answer Henry. Do company's test for booze or cigarettes? They already make drug tests that don't pick up pot, and they are the same cost. I'm not a fan of taxation, but compared to jail, tax away.
Good common sense answer Henry. Do company's test for booze or cigarettes? They already make drug tests that don't pick up pot, and they are the same cost. I'm not a fan of taxation, but compared to jail, tax away.
The taxes can be regulated by the states like it is with tobacco, although there should be no penalty or regulations against growing your own which is what I'm sure they will try. Its amazing it took this long for the majority of Americans to finally see legalizing it is for the better. The drug cartels would take a massive hit, local crime caused by the sale of drugs would sink, we can create revenue, worst drugs that are now legal would become useless, take for instance the synthetic marijuana sold at stores, that stuff is more dangerous then real marijuana. Police could then focus their efforts on real crimes instead of victimless crimes like drug possession, think of the money saved by not tying up our court systems with outdated laws not to mention the millions saved by not imprisoning these people. If anything else it is worth legalizing just for the freedom, your body is your property and you should have the right to consume what you want as long as you don't infringe on nobody else.
"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."
It's true that companies could use common sense but I don't think people who have been employed awhile realize how bad the corporate world has latched on to the idea of screening. Right now they do screen for marijuana use, will they give that up if it becomes legal? Common sense would say yes, but we can't underestimate how bad people have gotten with the idea that they get to police their fellow citizens when they gain what they think is the least little bit of "authority". I know of a man in his early thirties who was asked to produce ID to buy a scratchoff at a convenience store and then the cle rk still didn't want to let him have it because it wasn't a NYS license. My point is that there has been a lot of brainwashing and those who think they are a branch of the government already would have to be brought on board as in, "you no longer have the right to test for this" if legalization is not going to have unintended consequences. I don't want any more employment-proof young @-holes wandering the streets of Schenectady. BTW, if under Obamacare smokers will pay a surcharge, how will they know you smoke?
It's true that companies could use common sense but I don't think people who have been employed awhile realize how bad the corporate world has latched on to the idea of screening.
BTW, if under Obamacare smokers will pay a surcharge, how will they know you smoke?
The labor pool is the labor pool. More stringent screening just shrinks the available labor pool and will drive up the cost of labor. If the economy ever comes back and unemployment goes down, that will put even more pressure on the labor market and drive up the cost of labor even more. Companies would have to relax things like pre-employment drug screenings and background checks to increase the pool of labor and reduce the cost of labor. Most minimum wage general laborer jobs do not require pre-employment drug testing because they assume a large percentage of that labor pool will test positive for drugs. It's not worth the investment.
BTW, smoking can be tested using a urine test. If you state on your employee health benefits that you are a non-smoker in order to get the lower premiums and you develop a medical problem, you can be tested for nicotine and be denied coverage if it is determine you lied.
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