Almost two-thirds of Americans favor the legalization of marijuana, a figure that has roughly doubled since 2000.
A Pew Research Center survey conducted in November found that 61 percent of Americans support making the drug legal. The poll did not make a distinction between legalizing the drug for recreational or medicinal use.
In 2000, Pew found that 31 percent of Americans favored the legalization of marijuana.
Other key figures in the poll data:
- 70 percent of millennials would like to see marijuana legalized.
- 66 percent of Generation X Americans favor legalization.
- 56 percent of baby boomers favor making the drug legal.
- 69 percent of Democrats, 65 percent of independents, and 43 percent of Republicans favor legalizing marijuana.
This week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions erased an Obama-era policy that made it easier for states to legalize marijuana. The move has been criticized by people on both sides of the political aisle.
Six states allow recreational use of marijuana, the most recent being California.
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