Voters less likely to support presidential candidates who take marijuana industry money; also less likely to support legalization when aware of Big Tobacco involvement
(Alexandria, VA) – According to a new national poll, 68% of registered voters do not support legalizing the recreational use of marijuana when given more than a binary choice of options. Polls touted by promoters of the marijuana industry as showing widespread support for legalization offer a false dichotomy by perpetuating the myth that, when it comes to drug policy, there are only two options, full legalization or full prohibition.
This poll, conducted by Emerson College, found that only 33% support the legalization of recreational use while 39% supported its use for medical purposes only, 18% support decriminalization (like a traffic ticket) and 11% wanted to see its use remain illegal.
“Big Pot, which is rapidly being taken over by the giants of Big Tobacco, Big Alcohol, and even Big Pharma, wants lawmakers to believe it has wide support among voters,” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a former drug policy advisor to the Obama Administration. “It pushes this false dichotomy in polls and uses them to try and expand its addiction-for-profit business model.”
Additionally, the poll found that 38% of voters were less likely to support a presidential candidate who took money from the marijuana industry. As SAM’s donations tracker has found, elected officials who push for policies that would benefit Big Pot have been recipients of large amounts of money from the industry. Finally, the poll found that 45% of voters were less likely to support the legalization of marijuana when they were made aware of the involvement of Big Tobacco in the marijuana industry.
“Marijuana legalization isn’t about social justice, or any other line Big Pot will try to sell you, it is about profits,” continued Dr. Sabet. “Every day this becomes more apparent and everyday more Americans are waking up to the reality that this isn’t Woodstock, this is Wall Street.”
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