Up in smoke: Less than a third of conservatives favor marijuana legalization

Not everyone has gotten aboard the marijuana happy train.

“Legalizing marijuana remains a much easier task in certain places than others. Chiefly, in contrast to high levels of support among liberals and solid support among moderates, less than a third of conservative Americans think marijuana should be legal,” says Gallup analyst Lydia Saad.

This contrasts to liberals; almost three fourths approve of the idea, the pollster found.

And the numbers: 51 percent of Americans favor “legalizing the use of marijuana”; 31 percent of conservatives, 58 percent of moderates and 73 percent of liberals agree.

Interesting to note Gallup’s historical data. In 1969 - at the height of the era’s drug culture - 84 percent of Americans overall disapproved of legalization.

While the possibility of increased tax revenues and less crowded jails are a public draw in locales where grass is legal, the health, cultural and law enforcement issues are still being debated. The “marijuana industry”, meanwhile, is drawing many entrepreneurs. Among the budding new businesses - many which already are forming their own trade groups: Marijuana vending machines, bakeries, child-proof safety caps for liquid preparations and party planners who specialize in pot-enhanced events.