There is a deep schism ready to ready to break apart the Republican Party from within when it comes to the legalization of marijuana. In a new Pew Research Center survey, only 17% of Republicans from the ‘Silent Generation’ are in favor of legalizing marijuana, 38% of the Baby Boomers are in favor, and a 63% majority of young Republican Millennial voters are in favor of legalizing marijuana.
That’s an astounding 46% divide within the Republican Party on what is the hottest topic in the news right now: the legalization of marijuana. The evidence is clear as day, Millennials want weed to be legalized. Unfortunately, as of the 2014 elections only 21.3% of Millennial voters even showed up to the polls.
How do Democrats and Republicans match up when it comes to the legalization of marijuana? Across the board Dems are more in favor of legalization, though the divide between the two parties is significantly less in Gen X and Millennials:
While the Pew Research Center survey published on Friday shows a 14 percentage point gap between Republicans and Democrats under the age of 34, six-in-10 GOP-leaning Millennials still said they favor legalizing cannabis. Seventy-seven percent of surveyed Democrats in the same age group held that view.
For those aged 35 to 50, the same 14 percentage point gap between Republicans and Democrats was evident, but the respective percentages were somewhat lower. In that age group, 47 percent of Republicans favored legalization, as opposed to 61 percent of Democrats.
As Pew notes: “The debate over marijuana also comes ahead of the 2016 presidential election, when both political parties are fighting over the coveted Millennial vote as this group of eligible voters swells in size, even if its members do not consistently show up on Election Day.”
So the 2016 presidential election will be a hot debate for all things marijuana. From decriminalization to legalization to regulation, everyone is going to have an opinion on what they think should be done. What should be done is the passing of two bills introduced to Congress recently which would give the states the right to choose to legalize and regulate as they see fit without any federal intrusion, but chances are those bills will never make it to the floor.
That, or we millennials need to just turn up and vote for legalization if we want to see it passed.
Just out of curiosity on our own part, if you’re a Millennial Republican (born 1981-1996) drop us a comment down below and say which way your are leaning when it comes to the legalization of marijuana.
[NPR via Pew Research Center]