Pubdate: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 Source: Washington Times (DC) Copyright: 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Contact: http://www.washingtontimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/492 Author: Seth McLaughlin MAJORITY OF AMERICANS FAVOR LEGALIZED MARIJUANA By Seth McLaughlin-The Washington Times Tuesday, October 22, 2013 For the first time ever, a "clear majority" of Americans say that pot should be legal, according to a new Gallup poll. The survey shows that Americans views on marijuana legalization have changed dramatically since 1969 when 12 percent of those surveyed favored legalizing the drug. PHOTOS: Celebrity plastic surgery gone wild Fast-forward to today and nearly six in ten of the people polled say they support it. "Now for the first time, a clear majority of Americans (58 percent) say the drug should be legalized," Gallup's Art Swift wrote in the poll analysis. Mr. Swift said that the support could be tied to the number of Americans - nearly four in ten - that have admitted to smoking pot and to the successful efforts to legalize marijuana in Colorado and Washington. "Support for legalization has jumped 10 percentage points since last November and the legal momentum shows no sign of abating," he said. Mr. Swift likened the changing attitudes on the drug to the increased support for gay marriage, which has reached "majority support in the last two years." - --- MAP posted-by: Matt