The chance for voters to decide whether weed should be legal comes at a time when newly released polling suggests cannabis is more popular than ever.
The high-water mark for marijuana, and the changing tides, is where we begin our weekly roundup of the political week that was.
Every so often in polling, you get to witness a big changing-of-the-guard moment. That happened a few weeks ago, when Gallup released data on marijuana and tobacco usage in the United States. Two long-term trends finally collided.
At about the time humans first landed on the moon (1969), however, the idea that marijuana would one day be more popular than cigarettes was inconceivable. A Gallup poll from that year found that just 4% of Americans admitted they had even tried marijuana, let alone smoked it regularly. Today, 48% of Americans say they have at least tried it.
That same year (1969), 40% of Americans said they had smoked cigarettes in the same week. This was the lowest percentage recorded by Gallup between 1944 and 1972 of those who said they had smoked a cigarette in the past week.
Marjiuana and tobacco usage trends have been going in opposite directions for a few decades now. By 1985, nearly as many Americans said they had tried marijuana (33%) as had smoked a cigarette in the past week (35%).
Cigarette smoking has been declining ever since. By 2013, just 19% of Americans were smoking cigarettes at least once a week. Meanwhile, 38% of Americans told Gallup they had tried marijuana that year. This was the same year that 7% said they currently smoked marijuana.
Nearly a third (30%) of adult respondents under the age of 35 admitted to Gallup this year that they smoke marijuana. That’s significantly higher than those aged 35-54 (16%) or 55+ (7%).
Smoking tobacco, on the other hand, isn’t seen as cool. Just 8% of adults under 35 are smoking cigarettes at least once a week. Slightly more adults aged 35-54 (10%) or 55+ (14%) said they had.
The times have certainly changed.
Americans stand with the FBI … Republicans not so much …
The American public, at least for now, isn’t buying it; but Republicans seem to be sticking by their man.
This matches with other polling that found most Americans approved of the search.
Republicans, on the other hand, feel quite differently. A majority (54%) said the FBI and the DOJ had acted irresponsibly. Nearly the same percentage of Republicans (53%) said Trump had acted responsibly. Among all Americans, just 32% believed Trump has acted responsibly in the matter compared with 42% who said irresponsibly.
With recent polling showing an incline in Biden’s popularity, Trump is currently the most unpopular living person to ever be president.
Whether that ultimately keeps Republicans from nominating him in 2024 is one of the biggest questions in electoral politics. For now, many Republicans seem intent on nominating him in spite of the broader public’s dislike of him.
For your brief encounters: College football is underway
You may not realize the popularity of the game if you live in the Northeast, where a mere 25% are fans of the game. College football is much more popular in the Midwest (41%) and the South (40%).
