Will Republicans Lose It All in 2014?

A very interesting poll conducted by HuffPost/YouGov asked participants if more states would allow the legalization of marijuana and same-sex marriage by the end of 2014. The poll found a large amount of support for both questions even though Republicans still stand firm on their beliefs regarding these issues. More specifically, the poll found that 64% of Americans expect more states to legalize marijuana by the end of the new year. What is intriguing to me and probably many is how the Republican party will respond to these issues that the public seems to be very supportive of.

Included below is an image of the poll.

**Note: The following poll may be an unrepresentative sample that includes bias as it is an internet poll. Thus, only citizens who are specifically interested in the topic may participate. 

Democrats vs. Republicans

According to a study done by the PEW Research Center in April of 2013, the majority of people living the United States now favor legalization of marijuana. More interestingly though, there is a huge gap in the percentage of support from Democrats vs. Republicans. According to the study, 59% of Democrats believe the use of marijuana should be legal, while only 37% of Republicans do! A large amount of Republicans compared to Democrats also believe that the use of marijuana is "morally wrong", with 47% of Republicans holding this belief vs. a mere 26% of Democrats that hold the same belief.

Bill O'Reilly vs. Mary Katherine Ham (a marijuana proponent) 

Majority for legalization?

According to a Gallup poll published in October of 2013, the majority of Americans, for the first time ever, believe that marijuana should be legalized. Although the legalization of marijuana has always been fought for, the push for legalization really started in the new millennia. Now, the urgency to make the drug legal has been even stronger due to Colorado and Washington who it 100% legal to use the drug for recreational uses.

When looking at the poll, one can see that there has been a huge increase in the number of Americans who believe the use of marijuana should be legal. For example, support for legalization skyrocketed from just 12% in 1969 to 58% in 2013. 

CNN Poll

According to Polling Report, the latest CNN poll regarding the legalization of marijuana found that the majority of adults nationwide find the legalization of marijuana acceptable. 

More interestingly, the majority of those surveyed believed that both alcohol and tobacco use have more dangerous consequences than the use of marijuana. 

Note: Sample size of 1,010 adults nationwide surveyed between January 3-5, 2014. 

Why Illegal Drugs?

Many may be wondering...why illegal drugs? Well there are many reasons. To begin with, marijuana and the legalization of it is something that has been on the minds of politicians and everyday citizens alike, which has allowed it to become a very hot topic in politics. Furthermore, I am genuinely interested in seeing how different states approach the idea of legalizing marijuana and how the public opinion will sway due to these various approaches. 

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Introduction

Hello everyone! It's Tammy here and the issue I will be focusing on this semester is illegal drugs, more specifically, the debate over the legalization of marijuana.