By Julia Conley
A growing majority of Americans support the legalization of marijuana for personal use, according to a new poll by NBC News/Wall Street Journal.
Sixty
percent of those surveyed said adults should have the right to buy
marijuana, with even higher levels of support among Democrats and
respondents under the age of 35.
The survey results were consistent with another recent poll taken by Pew Research Center earlier this month, which found that 61 percent of Americans back legalization.
Nearly
three-quarters of people ages 18 to 34 supported legalization according
to the new poll. While support was lower among those ages 35 to 49 and
50 to 64, majorities in both age groups said the substance should be
legalized.
The poll showed an increase in support since 2014, when only 55 percent of Americans supported legalization.
The survey results came out days after Vermont became the ninth state to
legalize recreational marijuana use for adults ages 21 and older, with a
law that will go into effect in July. The state is the first to pass
legalization through its legislature rather than a ballot initiative.
Maine, Massachusetts, California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and
Alaska have all decriminalized the substance in recent years.
New Jersey and Michigan are expected to
vote on legalization this year, while groups in red states including
Oklahoma and Utah are mounting efforts to include medical marijuana use
on this year's election ballots.
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