Illegal Drugs

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Illegal Drugs

Polls listed chronologically. Data are from nationwide surveys of Americans 18 & older.

*CNN/Time* Poll** conducted by Harris Interactive. Oct. 23-24, 2002. N=1,007 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.1.
					.
"Do you favor or oppose the legalization of marijuana?"
		10/02	4/86	3/83	.
		%	%	%	.
	Favor	34	18	24	.
	Oppose	59	78	73	.
	Not sure	7	4	4	.
					.
"Assuming marijuana is not legalized, do you think people arrested for possession of small amounts of marijuana should be put in jail, or just have to pay a fine but without serving any time in jail?"
		%			.
	Put in jail	19			.
	Just pay a fine	72			.
	Both (vol.)	2			.
	Neither (vol.)	4			.
	Not sure	3			.
					.
"Do you think adults should be allowed to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if their doctor prescribes it or do you think that marijuana should remain illegal even for medical purposes?"
			%		.
	Allow medical use		80		.
	Illegal even for medical purposes		17		.
	Not sure		3		.
					.
"According to statistics, lots of people have tried marijuana at least once. How about you, have you tried marijuana at least once?"
		10/02	3/83		.
		%	%		.
	Yes	47	31		.
	No	50	68		.
	Not sure	3	1		.

Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates. Feb. 14-19, 2001. N=1,513 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3 (total sample).
						.
Form 1 (N=728, MoE ą 4.5): "Next I have some questions about the problem of drugs and drug abuse. How would you describe the problem of drug abuse across the country? Would you say it is a crisis, a serious problem, a minor problem, or not a problem?"
			%
	Crisis		27
	Serious problem		63
	Minor problem		7
	Not a problem		1
	Don't know		2
						.
Form 2 (N=785, MoE ą 4.5): "Next I have some questions about the problem of drugs and drug abuse. How would you describe the problem of drug abuse in your neighborhood, including the local schools? Would you say it is a crisis, a serious problem, a minor problem, or not a problem?"
			%
	Crisis		9
	Serious problem		37
	Minor problem		37
	Not a problem		10
	Don't know		7
						.
"I'm going to mention some actions the government could take to control the use of drugs. I'd like you to rate the effectiveness of each. Would a big government push to [see below] be very effective in controlling drugs, only somewhat effective, or not very effective at all?"
		Very	Some- what	Not Very	Don't Know
		%	%	%	%
	"Stop the illegal importation of drugs from other countries"
		52	27	19	2
						.
	"Arrest people who sell illegal drugs in this country"
		49	33	17	1
						.
	"Provide drug treatment programs for drug users"
		36	43	19	2
						.
	"Educate Americans about the dangers of using illegal drugs"
		35	41	22	2
						.
	"Arrest drug users in this country"
		30	34	34	2
						.
Form 1 (N=728, MoE ą 4.5): "As you may know, the United States provides substantial financial assistance to countries like Columbia and Peru every year in order to help these countries fight drug trafficking. In your opinion, should the U.S. be providing more financial assistance to these countries, less financial assistance, or are we providing about the right amount of assistance now?"
			%
	More		11
	Less		42
	Providing about right amount		36
	Don't know		11
						.
Form 2 (N=785, MoE ą 4.5): "As you may know, the United States provides substantial military assistance to countries like Columbia and Peru every year in order to help these countries fight drug trafficking. In your opinion, should the U.S. be providing more military assistance to these countries, less military assistance, or are we providing about the right amount of assistance now?"
			%
	More		23
	Less		28
	Providing about right amount		37
	Don't know		12
						.
"Do you think the possession of small amounts of marijuana should or should not be treated as a criminal offense?"
		%
	Should	49
	Should not	46
	Don't know	5
						.
"Regardless of what you think about the personal non-medical use of marijuana, do you think doctors should or should not be allowed to prescribe marijuana for medical purposes to treat their patients?"
		%
	Should	73
	Should not	21
	Don't know	6
						.
"Has drug abuse ever been a cause of trouble in your family?"
		%
	Yes	21
	No	79
						.
"How big a factor do you think the following things are in determining whether a teenager tries illegal drugs or not? Would you say [see below] is a major factor in whether a teenager tries illegal drugs, a minor factor, or not a factor at all?"
		Major Factor	Minor Factor	Not a Factor	Don't Know
		%	%	%	%
	"Peer pressure"	82	14	2	2
						.
	"Lack of parental supervision"
		79	15	4	2
						.
	"How easy or difficult it is for the teen to get access to drugs"
		74	17	5	4
						.
	"The portrayal of drug use in movies, music and TV"
		55	32	10	3
						.
	"Whether the teen's parents drink or smoke"
		52	32	13	3
						.
	"Living in poverty"	45	33	18	4
						.
	"A lack of information about the dangers of drugs"
		44	35	19	2
						.
	"Boredom"	42	38	16	4
						.
	"Whether the teenager is raised in the city, suburbs or country"
		25	30	42	3
						.
"Please tell me whether you agree or disagree with each of the following statements.
		Agree	Disagree	Don't Know
		%	%	%
	"We are losing the drug war."
		74	20	6
						.
	Form 2 (N=785, MoE ą 4.5): "We will never be able to stop drugs from coming into this country because the demand for drugs is so high in the U.S."
		74	24	2
						.
	Form 1 (N=728, MoE ą 4.5): "Latin American governments will never be able to control the problem of drug trafficking."
		68	27	5
						.
	"The television and motion picture industries fail to accurately portray the dangers of drug abuse."
		68	28	4
						.
	"Parents who used drugs in their youth don’t do enough to help their kids stay away from drugs."
		59	30	11
						.
	"Too many people are put in jail just for possessing drugs."
		47	47	6
						.
	Form 2 (N=785, MoE ą 4.5): "If marijuana were legalized, it would be harder to control the use of more serious drugs such as heroin and cocaine."
		44	50	6
						.
	Form 1 (N=728, MoE ą 4.5): "Legalizing marijuana would make it easier for law enforcement to control more serious drugs."
		36	59	5
						.
	"People should be allowed to take any drug they want so long as they don't hurt someone else."
		12	86	2
						.
Form 1 (N=728, MoE ą 4.5): "Some states are moving away from the idea of mandatory prison sentences for non-violent drug offenders. Do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing?"
		%
	Good thing	47
	Bad thing	45
	Don't know	8
						.
Form 2 (N=785, MoE ą 4.5): "All in all, should drug use be treated more like a crime or more like a disease?"
		%
	A crime	35
	A disease	52
	Both (vol.)	9
	Neither (vol.)	1
	Don't know	3
						.
"Keeping in mind that all of your answers in this survey are confidential, have you, yourself, ever happened to try marijuana?"
		%
	Yes	38
	No	60
	Don't know/Refused	2

The Gallup Poll. March 19-21, 1999. N=1,018 adults nationwide.
				.
"Suppose that on election day this year you could vote on key issues as well as candidates. Please tell me whether you would vote for or against each one of the following propositions: Would you vote for or against [see below]?"
				.
	"the legalization of marijuana"
		3/99	4/96
		%	%
	For	29	24
	Against	69	73
	No opinion	2	3
				.
	"making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering"
		%
	For	73
	Against	25
	No opinion	2

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