Majority Of Republican Millennials Support Marijuana Legalization

On the heels of recreational marijuana use becoming legal in Washington, D.C., a poll reveals that a majority of Republican millennials favor legalizing marijuana.

The poll, conducted by Pew Research Center, found that 63 percent of Republican millennials — defined as those born between 1981 and 1996 — feel that the use of marijuana should be legal. Support among Democratic millennials was even higher, at 77 percent.

Support for Marijuana Largely a Generational Story

While a majority of Democrats in all age groups born after 1945 support marijuana legalization, the only Republican age group to favor legal marijuana was millennials.

Alaska, Oregon and Washington, D.C., all passed ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana last November. The poll results came the same week the measures went into effect in Alaska and Washington. Oregon’s legalization is set to go into effect later this year.

The months since Washington voted to legalize marijuana have been filled with debates and threats as congressional Republicans attempted to thwart the law. Ultimately, the required 30-day period for congressional review expired, and legalization went into effect.

Pew Research Center notes that the contrast between Republican millennials and their elder counterparts is comparable to their positions on same-sex marriage: a March poll showed that 61 percent of Republican millennials favor legalizing gay marriage.