Earlier this week we told you about Washington D.C. council and their push to decriminalize cannabis in our nation’s capitol. They might want to set their sights a little higher.
According to a Washington Post poll, 63 percent of D.C. residents want to legalize marijuana for adults. It didn’t matter what age, race or ethnicity either. Everyone wants it. Even half of those who opposed legalizing it think that something needs to be done about the current laws.
The Post calls the measure a “major shift” in political climate in the city, noting that just four years ago the same poll showed an even split among voters.
The poll of 1,011 adults was taken between January 8 and 12 of this year.
Lawmakers this week announced they are trying to make marijuana possession of an ounce or less a civil fine on par with a traffic ticket. The proposed fine is $25.
Outright legalization measures have been kicked around by council, but the only people moving on it are a group of citizens who filed a ballot initiative to legalize limited amounts of cannabis for adults 21 and up.
Either way, something needs to be done. You’re more likely to be arrested for pot in D.C. than anywhere else in the country according to some surveys, and the city is known for racially profiling black youths for arrest. An ACLU report recently showed that as much as 81 percent of arrestees in one ward of the city were black when the black population in that part of the city only accounts for one-third of the population.
Interestingly, the black population polled the lowest for outright legalization with 51 percent saying it should be legalized and 45 percent saying it should remain illegal.
Read the entire report over at the Washington Post.
