The scales have tipped in favor of legal weed in Louisiana. 55 percent of state residents now support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana for recreational use, according to a new report from the Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs at Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communication. Support for legal marijuana still isn’t as high as support for legalizing sports betting or expanding gun rights, but it does mark a turning point in views on the issue in a state with that’s still cracking down on cannabis.
Support for Legal Weed Shows Big Regional and Demographic Differences
The major takeaways from the survey are that a majority of Louisiana residents want sports betting, don’t want any bans or limits on assault rifles or large-capacity magazines and do want marijuana legalization. But support for legal weed enjoyed the smallest majority of the three, at 55 percent.
But that 55 percent hides the dramatic differences in views on legal adult-use cannabis across age groups. According to the report, 80 percent of 18-29 year olds support legalizing. Support drops off slightly, to 67 percent, among 30-49 year olds, before hitting an even split among Boomers aged 50-65. From there, attitudes swing sharply back toward prohibition, with 69 percent of those 65 and older opposing adult-use legalization.
Support for legalization was also much higher in the metro New Orleans area. In the north of Louisiana, a majority of residents still oppose legalization. The report says the rest of the state splits the difference more evenly.
Interestingly, the data also shows that those with less education were less likely to support legalization than