In Recognition of 4/20

No, I’m not sayin’ Happy B’Day to Hitler! (Just a little trivia…)

What I am referring to is the other meaning of 420, or 4/20, or 4:20, or April 20th and how an Associated Press-CNBC poll on the medical and recreational use of marijuana was released today, April 20, 2010. (Y’all think that mighta been on purpose?)

Anyways, it seems that Americans are demographically similar on marijuana and same-sex marriage in that people under the age of 30 have the right idea, while the old fuddy duddies are, once again, letting the world leave them behind.

Overall, 33% are in favor of legalization, and 55% are against it. But, the under-30 crowd sees things differently, with 54% in favor of sensible marijuana policy. Meanwhile, folks 65 and older are 73% opposed.

Oddly enough, you can swap out “marijuana” for “same-sex marriage” and the poll numbers for/against are about the same.

We have a strange attitude toward recreational drugs in the US. Many polls show that 70% or more of the American people believe that the drug war has failed, yet only 30-40% are in favor of meaningful drug policy reform.