Public split evenly on pot legalization, poll finds

About half of people in the United States are now in favor of legalizing marijuana, a new poll indicates.

Forty-nine percent of the public supported legalizing small amounts of pot for personal use, according to a ABC News/Washington Post poll released Wednesday. Forty-eight percent, meanwhile, opposed its legalization. 

{mosads}Support for legalization hit a new high in the news outlets’ joint polling history, they say. 

People who “strongly” oppose the legalization of marijuana stood at 36 percent, compared to 28 percent who “strongly” supported it, the poll says.

Young people were much more likely to support legalization, while people 65 or older strongly disapproved.

Likewise, people were split along the political spectrum. At least half of Democrats and independents supported legalization. Only 37 percent of Republicans, by contrast, supported it.

The poll notes 23 states have decriminalized possession of weed, or have permitted its use for medical purposes.

Colorado recently legalized the sale of marijuana for personal use. A CNN/ORC International poll from last week indicated one-third of people across the country supported that law.