A Gallup poll released Monday shows a record-high amount of Americans, 50 percent, now say marijuana should be legalized.
The rise in popular support for cannabis has risen dramatically over the decades. When Gallup first asked the question, some 42 years ago, just 12 percent of Americans favored it, while 84 percent opposed. Support stayed in the mid-20s from the late 1970's to the mid 1990's but has crept up steadily since then, passing 30 percent in 2000 and 40 percent in 2009.
This article appears in Oct 13-19, 2011.