Questions - Drug Legalization - May 12, 2012
47% Favor Legalizing Pot, Cocaine To Reduce Border Drug Violence
11% Favor Legalizing, Regulating Cocaine
52% Say States Should Be Allowed to Overrule Feds on Drug Approval
58% Favor Selling Pot in Pharmacies Only
56% Favor Legalizing, Regulating Marijuana
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National Survey of 1,000 Likely Voters
Conducted May 12,
2012
By Rasmussen Reports
1* Would you favor or oppose a law that bans the sale and
consumption of beer, wine, and all alcoholic beverages?
2* Should the government outlaw
tobacco smoking?
3* Should it be a crime for people to smoke marijuana in their
own home or the home of a friend?
4* Would you favor or oppose legalizing marijuana and
regulating it in the similar manner to the way alcohol and tobacco cigarettes
are regulated today?
5* Suppose
that marijuana was legalized and regulated so that it was illegal for people
under 18 to buy, that those who drove while under the influence of marijuana
received strict penalties, and that smoking marijuana was banned in public
places like restaurants. With such regulations in place, would you favor or
oppose legalizing and regulating marijuana?
6* Suppose that, if marijuana was legalized and regulated, it
could be sold only in pharmacies. Drug dealers who sold marijuana on the street
would be subject to strict jail sentences. Would that reduce the number of drug
dealers in the country?
7* If
marijuana was legalized and regulated, but could be sold only in pharmacies,
would you favor or oppose legalizing and regulating marijuana?
8* If
marijuana was legalized and could be sold only in pharmacies, would the number
of people under 18 who smoke marijuana increase or decrease?
9* Some people believe that if marijuana was legalized and
regulated, it would reduce gang violence and reduce income for organized crime
groups. How likely is it that legalizing and regulating marijuana would reduce
gang violence and reduce income for organized crime groups?
10* As
long as they don’t do anything to harm others, should individuals have the
right to put whatever drugs or medication they want into their own bodies?
11*
Suppose the Food and Drug Administration is considering whether or not to
approve a particular drug. If they understand that the drug has not yet been
approved or disapproved, should any U.S. citizen be allowed to use that drug?
12*
Suppose the Food and Drug Administration denies approval for a particular drug.
If a state government believes the drug has benefits in some circumstances,
should the state be able to approve the sale of that drug in that state?
13* Would you favor or oppose legalizing cocaine and regulating
it in a similar manner to the way alcohol and tobacco cigarettes are regulated
today?
14* If
cocaine was regulated and sold only in pharmacies, would that reduce the number
of drug dealers selling cocaine?
15* If
cocaine was regulated and sold only in pharmacies, would that reduce the number
of people under 18 who use cocaine?
16* The
United States is the leading consumer of illegal drugs like marijuana and
cocaine. Some foreign policy experts argue that the U.S. consumer demand for
illegal drugs is a primary cause of the drug violence and gang warfare in
Mexico and Central America. Is the U.S. consumption of illegal drugs a major
factor in the drug violence in Mexico and Central America?
17* How
likely is it that legalizing and regulating marijuana and cocaine would reduce
gang violence and drug warfare is Mexico and Central America?
18* If you
knew that legalizing and regulating both marijuana and cocaine would, in fact,
reduce drug violence along the Mexican border, would you favor or oppose
regulating both marijuana and cocaine?
NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence