A recent YouGov.com survey found that a 70 percent supermajority of Americans supports the expungement of nonviolent cannabis convictions. Only 17 percent of respondents said they opposed cannabis expungements.
The specific question posed was, “Do you support or oppose expunging marijuana-related convictions for non-violent offenders?”
The pollsters also found support for the issue was bipartisan throughout the U.S., with 80 percent of Democrats, 69 percent of Independents, and 57 percent of Republicans saying they either strongly support or somewhat support cannabis conviction expungement.
“Millions of citizens unduly carry the undue burden and stigmatization of a past conviction for behavior that most Americans no longer believe ought to be a crime, and that in a growing number of states is no longer classify as a crime by statute. Our sense of justice and our principles of fairness demand that officials move swiftly to right the past wrongs of cannabis prohibition and criminalization.” — NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano, in a press release
Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the MORE Act to decriminalize and deschedule cannabis at the federal level. It was the body’s first-ever vote aimed at undoing cannabis prohibition. While historic, the bill, however, is unlikely to even be considered by the GOP-controlled Senate.
Meanwhile, a record number of Americans support legalizing cannabis for adult use, according to the latest Gallup poll.
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