Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the U.S. has a serious drug abuse problem and 65 percent think the federal “War on Drugs” has been a failure, says a national Angus Reid survey reported by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.com. Low marks for the “War on Drugs” cross party lines, with 63 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Republicans and 70 percent of independents picking the option of failure. Just 8 percent believe the anti-drug war is a success.
The poll of 1,003 American adults, taken July 14 and 15, shows that the public draws a distinction between marijuana and other drugs. A total of 52 percent supported the legalization of marijuana. Just 8 percent would support legalization of heroin or powder cocaine or methamphetamines. California will vote on pot legalization in November, although federal law continues to prohibit possession of cannabis.