AP-CNBC Poll: Most in US against legalizing pot

[basspirate]

This article makes me want to laugh maniacally and growl as the mighty grizzly bear simultaneously. More tainted reporting from the corporate misinformation machine.

I love how all the comments written are in favor of legalization and anything mentioning prohibition relies on nothing but fear. Are pro-prohibition folk finally giving in and admitting that it's just fear they are going on and just holding onto that?

HOWEVER folks, this makes my spidey sense tingle...isn't it a bit suspicious to have such a poll on their front page on 420? Isn't it also a bit suspicious how the poll/reporting is so tainted? YES! It is.

I think Yahoo/CNBC put this up so that stoners, angry at the previous article, will follow the link at the bottom of the page to the CNBC marijuana headquarters. Many of you may have seen that show they've been airing about the booming MJ business (marijuana inc?)...I think they are almost starting their own little countdown to legalization. Check the link; http://marijuana.cnbc.com

The poll is total crap, but I think there's something fishy about all this! Happy holiday, tokers!

Most Americans still oppose legalizing marijuana but larger majorities believe pot has medical benefits and the government should allow its use for that purpose, according to an Associated Press-CNBC poll released Tuesday.

Respondents were skeptical that crime would spike if marijuana is decriminalized or that it would lead more people to harder drugs like heroin or cocaine. There also was a nearly even split on whether government spends too much or the right amount enforcing marijuana laws. Almost no one thinks too little is spent.

Marijuana use — medically and recreationally — is getting more attention in the political arena. California voters will decide in November whether to legalize the drug, and South Dakota will vote this fall on whether to allow medical uses. California and 13 other states already permit such use.

The balloting comes against the backdrop of the Obama administration saying it won't target marijuana dispensaries if they comply with state laws, a departure from the policy of the Bush administration, which sought to more stringently enforce the federal ban on marijuana use for any purpose.

In the poll, only 33 percent favor legalization while 55 percent oppose it. People under 30 were the only age group favoring legalization (54 percent) and opposition increased with age, topping out at 73 percent of those 65 and older. Opposition also was prevalent among women, Republicans and those in rural and suburban areas.

For the full story visit this link:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/36662808

 

[armedoldhippy]

yes, the "whole story" is much rosier than the lead-in was. later in the article, they point out that 14% of those against legalization CHANGED THEIR MIND if taxing it would help the economy. well, take 14% & subtract it from 55%, the number they said were against legalization, uh, carry the naught, subtract 2 oughts, ummm yeah, that leaves 41% against outright legalization. hmmmmm...that means that 59% are FOR legalization if it was taxed, right ?

 

[litebuzz]

this poll was based on 1000 people....obviously means nothing!

 

[basspirate]

Yeah, I think they were standing outside of a Mormon purity rally. I don't think you need to be a psychic or a political scientist to see that a majority of Americans are in favor of legalization; many can see the hypocrisy too clearly. If you look at the comments below that article, it's ridiculous...practically nobody stuck up for prohibition. Maybe it's because non-MJ people don't give a shit enough to comment?

 

[Speedcat]

how in the fuck can you state a poll that o most of the us is against marijuana legalization. WTF there is only 1000 people that voted. DID YOU GET THE OTHER 349,999,000 other Americans that are in this country!!!!!??? wonder what those figures would look like If I walked around SF in CA on 420 and took polls then posted the results..99% of america for legalization of marijuana, results just in.

 

[kannubis]

polls schmolls, lets see what happens in the first week of November

 

[the_red_bull]

Oh well if most of the country is against it then I guess I am too. I mean one time in college this Greek guy game me one puff of a joint and I got sooooo sick. So I'll just stick to my beer and vicodin.

 

[jayburtonboy]

polls schmolls, lets see what happens in the first week of November

^Bump

 

[Junkhead]

article with dubious content and intention comes out on 4/20... just more of the same old propaganda.

 

[basspirate]

I still think the intent was twofold, though. I think msnbc wants you to check out their pot homepage so they put out a bunch of bullshit to lure you in.

 

[Bake_McBride]

this poll was based on 1000 people....obviously means nothing!

If my stoner memory serves me correctly, 1000 ppl is a statistically valid sample size. But you know what they say about statistics, you can make a case for just about anything.

 

[Leonard NeemOil]

This is very revealing and is a valid statistical representation...

...of the type of person who watches cnbc AND responds to inane polls.

 

[the_red_bull]

Well if that's the case statisticly 100% of the country wants me to takeover as emporer and declare martial law so I can remove your rights. Of course the thousand people I polled were either promised lavish favoritism or threatened with death... I think I even threatened to shoot someone into space.

 

[igrowone]

statistics aside, you can get either result, mostly it depends on how you phrase the question
if you asked 'would you be in favor for it to be legal for an individual to grow MJ in their own home for their own use?'
i expect this would get more votes than 'do you favor the legalization of MJ'

 

[xfargox]

I think anyone here who knows me knows I'm in favor of legalization, but there are a lot of biased responses from you guys. If NORML had a poll just like this but the numbers were flipped, many of the replies here would be favorable.

AFAIK CNBC isn't a republican-slanted place.

The question itself determines a lot of the response. Also, yes: a larger sample size would be more accurate.

Of course, I'd wait for any Gallup/Zogby poll (or a few other good pollsters) before taking it seriously. Those guys seem to do the best job of getting representative results.

I don't think it's CLEAR that the majority of Americans are for legalization; I think it's close to 50/50. I know that the majority favor legalizing MMJ aka rescheduling it to sched 2.

 

[SpasticGramps]

NBC is owned by GE a top 10 military contractor. 1+1=2. It's nothing more than a propaganda outlet for the Neo-Liberals.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Sounds like a conservative area was polled but the demographics are reasonable. That the older generations are passing on and the younger are voting yes

 

[ijimunot]

Someone has to hire and pay somebody to do a poll. How was the poll done? Who did the pollsters call? Did they call both mobile and land line phones. Who answers a phone if they don't recognize the caller ID. Where do they call? What time of day do they call?
There are quite a few ways to do a poll. The pollster is usually given guidelines by the people paying them. Thus any poll can be engineered to reflect the views of the people with the money.
How many people in this forum has been contacted for a poll? Half the people in this forum would think its a setup by the cops and hang up. Anybody that believes what they hear from any media source to be true spends to much time listening to the media.

 

[xfargox]

All I was saying is that these responses would not have come were the poll in favor of legalization is all.

I think we all know that the voting is about 4x% vs 5x% whichever way it is (like 55%vs45% or something), but it'd hard to find out until a nationwide vote came to order. Until then, this is all moot.

 

[Open Eyes]

Who cares what the rest of the USA thinks as California is going to lead the way without the rest of the country. I sincerely think that Californians will vote in favor of legalization and leave everybody's jaw dropping. Then the shit will hit the fan! lol