A majority of Louisiana residents now support making marijuana legal for recreational use. According to the 2019 LSU Louisiana Survey, 55% support legalizing small amounts of marijuana for recreational use. 42% of Louisiana residents support keeping marijuana illegal for recreational use.

Currently, Louisiana legalizes marijuana for medicinal use. But the state has been cracking down on CBD products which are made from hemp. The legislature is expected to debate legalizing both marijuana and hemp in this current session.

The crosstabs in the poll are very interesting. Metro New Orleans really supports legalizing weed with 71% support. In contrast, north Louisiana opposes marijuana legalizing with only 43% in support. The rest of the state is more evenly divided.

There is also a major age gap on this issue. 80% of Louisianians aged 18-29 support pot legalization, along with 67% of those 30-49. But older Louisianians remain generally opposed to legalizing pot with only 27% of those 65 years old and older oppose legalizing pot.

There is also an education gap on pot legalization with Louisianians who only have a high school education likely to oppose pot legalization while Louisianians who went to college are more likely to support legalization. 65% of men also support legalizing weed while only 46% of women support legalization.

Finally, 59% of Democrats and 64% of those with no party affiliation support pot legalization compared to only 48% of Republicans. Liberals and moderates also support pot legalization whereas self-described conservatives do not.

Marijuana legalization has become more popular over the past few years as some states have legalized it. A nationwide CBS News poll released today shows that 65% of Americans support legalizing weed, which is a record high.

Why have Americans and Louisianians embraced weed? Because to put it simply, the sky did not fall down in the states which legalized marijuana. Legalizing weed generally did not lead to a spike in crime or any public health issues in the states which legalized. Finally, marijuana has lost some of the negative stigmas that it had.

Marijuana legalization seems to be inevitable, both nationwide and in Louisiana.