Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy
An independent candidate in Chile's December presidential election has raised the topic of marijuana legalization, but according to a new Angus-Reid poll, that's not a winning issue in the conservative South American country. A solid majority oppose legalization, the poll found.
Marco EnrÃquez-Ominami
Former Socialist Party politician Marco Antonio EnrÃquez-Ominami Gumucio, who split from the party to run for the presidency as an independent, had broached the topic. He created something of a stir in Chile by saying he "is a supporter of looking into the matter of legalizing marijuana."
That is apparently still a hard sell in the socially conservative country where abortion is illegal, being gay was a crime until 1988, and divorce was illegal until 2004. Whether EnrÃquez-Ominami's presidential bid gets any traction will be determined December 11, when the first round of the election will be held.
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Please read and report poll results more carefully.
Thanks for reporting on this, but please read the poll reports more carefully.
From the poll report: "57.5 per cent of respondents would oppose this legislation, while 41.3 per cent of respondents would support it either unconditionally or for medical purposes."
Do you support or oppose legalizing marijuana?
Support
19.6%
Only for medical purposes
21.7%
Oppose
57.5%
Source: Ipsos.
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,016 Chilean adults, conducted from May 18 to Jun. 1, 2009. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.
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Around 50% of Americans support legalization of small amounts of marijuana for personal use. For U.S. polls:
Polls after 10 years of Global Marijuana Marches.
http://inmystride.blogspot.com/2009/06/polls-after-10-years-of-global.html
I think it matters how the question is asked. People don't want a Libertarian free-for-all. They support small amounts for personal use. Distribution and public use of cannabis are different questions. These questions below got better results in the USA. See the above linked article.
"In general, do you favor or oppose legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use?"
"Scarce law enforcement and prison resources, a desire to neutralize drug cartels and the need for new sources of revenue have resurrected the topic of legalizing marijuana. Proponents say it makes sense to tax and regulate the drug while opponents say that legalization would lead marijuana users to use other illegal drugs. Would you favor or oppose the government's effort to legalize marijuana?"
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