By Sarah DeMeo, Care by Design

Three polls from Marist College, CBS News, and Quinnipiac University were released in April that show cannabis support is at an all-time high.

Marist News poll “Weed and the American Family”, was released on April 17th, 2017. Below is a list of key findings in this poll:

• 52% of American adults have tried cannabis at some point in their lives.
• 22% of Americans use cannabis. 63% of cannabis users are regular users.
• About half of cannabis users are parents: 54% of cannabis users and 51% of those who use cannabis regularly (at least once a month).
• 56% of Americans think that cannabis use is socially acceptable.
• Over half of Americans don’t think less of professionals or athletes for using cannabis in their free time.
• 79% of Americans would lose respect for parents who use cannabis in front of their children.
• 27% of those who don’t use cannabis say the main reason is its legal status under federal law.
• Cannabis users are open about their use. 95% of them have told their significant other and close friends about their use. 72% told their parents about use. 60% told their kids.

CBS released a poll that surveyed voters about the legality and health effects of cannabis on April 20th, 2017, and below is a list of key findings:

• 71% would oppose a federal government crackdown on cannabis sales in states where cannabis is legal.
• 65% of voters believe cannabis is less dangerous than other drugs.
• 53% believe it is less dangerous than alcohol.

Quinnipiac University released a poll that surveyed American voters on April 20th, 2017, and here are the key findings on cannabis:

• 76% of people think that the drug classification of cannabis should be lowered.
• An overwhelming majority of people, 94%, believe that doctors should be able to prescribe medical cannabis to patients.
• 60% of voters believe that cannabis should be legal in the U.S.

The findings from these polls show that there is an overwhelming amount of support for cannabis legalization despite its legal status and current drug scheduling. With this much support, having the drug rescheduled and national legalization are now realistic concepts.

Sarah DeMeo is a Public Affairs and Policy Intern at CannaCraft, Inc., the parent company of Care by Design. She has an interest in where both citizens and lawmakers stand on cannabis, and how their standings impact cannabis legislation. She is pursuing degrees in business and statistics. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, and hiking.