Support for cannabis law reform has been growing steadily since the 1970-s. Marijuana reform is more popular than President Obama, immigration reform and gun control. You can now add to that list the statement ‘marijuana legalization is more popular than online gambling reform.’ Cannabis commerce has certainly gone mainstream.
According to a Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Public Mind poll:
By a ratio of more than two-to-one, Americans say legalized marijuana (52%) is preferable to online gambling (20%). Moreover, trend data back to 2010 suggests attitudes toward the legalization of Internet gambling have remained relatively constant.
There are only three states currently permit online gambling (New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada). There of course are only two states that currently have legalized marijuana, although Alaska will be voting to legalize marijuana in November, and Oregon has a great chance of joining Alaska on Election Day.
The poll also found that 86% of participants said they’ve ‘heard or read a lot or some about legalization, with the majority (58%) who express the most attentiveness.’ This is good news to members of the marijuana industry nationwide. For a long time marijuana was in the shadows. The more that people know and hear about marijuana legalization, the more acceptance will grow, and with it, business opportunities.
I’m curious to see if marijuana is legalized at the federal level before online gambling. It seems like a possibility, which isn’t something I don’t think anyone would have said ten years ago. Let’s give every state the chance to create the next American industry. Let’s take a new approach.
