Only Four Percent Of People Surveyed Think That America Is Winning The War On Drugs
A new Rasmussen Reports survey was released over the weekend, which basically found out what we all already know – the war on drugs is a failure and almost everyone knows it. I would imagine that Kevin Sabet is somewhere hanging out with Dwight Holton trying to figure out why less and less people want to be a part of their ‘prohibition club.’ According to the Rasmussen Reports survey:
“Just four percent (4%) of American Adults believe the United States is winning the war on drugs, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Eighty-two percent (82%) disagree. Another 13% are undecided.”
“The national survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on August 12-13, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. ”
I think it’s significant that this was a phone survey, because in my non-professional opinion, I would think a phone survey would be skewed in favor of an older demographic, which traditionally is less likely to support drug reform. The real percentage of people that think we are winning the drug war is probably lower, but even 4% is is low enough that at some point reality will set in for prohibitionists. END THE WAR ON DRUGS! Below is the list of questions asked in the survey:
1* How closely have you followed recent news reports about drug laws?
2* The federal government has strict mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug-related offenses. Do you agree or disagree with the use of mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes?
3* Some argue that the use of mandatory sentences has filled prisons with thousands of non-violent offenders, mostly convicted of drug crimes. Do you favor or oppose a plan that would reduce the number of these non-violent offenders sent to prison?
4* Are there too many Americans in prison today?
5* Should marijuana be legalized?
6* Who should decide whether marijuana is legal in a state - the state government or the federal government?
7* Have you smoked marijuana within the past year?
8* Is the United States winning the war on drugs?
9* Does the United States spend too much or not enough on the war on drugs? Or is the amount spent about right?
