A majority of the public want cannabis legalised or decriminalised, including a majority of Conservative and Labour voters.
Most British people want cannabis legalised or decriminalised and two thirds want a comprehensive review of drugs policy, according to a new poll by Ipsos MORI.
Over half the public (53%) support the legalisation or decriminalisation of the possession of cannabis, and only 1 in 7 believe in tougher penalties and more money being spent on enforcement for cannabis offences.
Interestingly the survey, which sampled 946 adults between January 25 and February 5, also looked at attitudes to drugs based on newspaper readership and found some surprising results.
It found that 45% of mid-market newspaper readers (including readers of the Daily Mail and the Express) support the legalisation of cannabis, and just one in five (17%) support heavier penalties and more money spent on enforcement.
Among tabloid readers the figures were 47% and 20% respectively.
According to the data, 61% of Daily Mail readers want a full review of drug policy.
Surprisingly perhaps, 70% of Conservative supporters compared to 69% of Labour supporters believe a full review of all the drug policy options is required.
A spokesperson from drugs think tank Transform said the results show how far ahead of politicians the public are.
“Politicians have repeated their ‘tough on drugs’ propaganda for so long that they assume the public are more fearful of change than they really are. In fact the world has changed, and the public are far more progressive than was thought, right across the political spectrum.
53 Responses to “Majority want cannabis legalised or decriminalised”
Mick
Just because these specimens were stereotypes didn’t make them any less true. They WERE many violent, many ruined and typically criminal. And they’re far from funny. (Perhaps you may like to be a victim of them one day and see if you still laugh then.)
I would think use would increase and also attract a huge pool of drug tourists. In Holland that’s been the case and in recent years, many Dutch voters have been more wary of the place’s former (apparently) liberating liberalism. Hence leftists and liberals making the bulk of the pro-narcotic chorus.
And as pointed out in a link above, there’s a general crime link with cannabis too. Here it is again: http://www.debatepolitics.com/europe/81507-call-licensed-cannabis-sales-6.html#post1058999146
That’s one reason why it bothers me. Other things include people taken in by twaddle about pot being safer than safe when in fact there’s a worse risk of cancer or brain damage than in ciggies.
Mick
….And on the point of childishness, people on these boards are ones to talk. I’ve been called racist, dick-head and moron.
Charming. But these loony-tunes can call me all they like. What matters is truth.
earthchild
Crime would decrease, so called criminal networks would loose huge revenue. A decent days work for any mp. Statistics can favour the eyes of the beholder. I a proud intelligent man is more foolish than the fool. Historically its been enjoyed till recent history.its not chemically altered its an earth product.at a certin time you paid to grow it in the states for bi products.there is a patent for a car built entiley of it and runs on it. The healing propties are proven medically thats a fact not statistics. Go shout at the nhs for injecting morphine based drugs into people disgusting drug in the wrong hands where’s your morale highground wen your clucking like a junky. You base your morales on law and a disorder known as un enlightened. See the world for wat it is take of the constraint glasses society has imposed in right and wrong.