Predictors of voter support for the legalization of recreational cannabis use and supply via a national referendum

Trends in public attitudes to permitting cannabis for recreational use: analysis of Irish survey data since 2002

“…This differs to research from New Zealand which found that support for recreational cannabis legalization was not associated with socio-demographic variables. 14 In the USA, where support for cannabis legalization has grown, there is no evidence that the changes within any particular socio-demographic group have been responsible for the overall change in attitude. 17 The relative lack of support for recreational cannabis among younger respondents in this study was surprising as younger people in Ireland are more likely to use cannabis compared with older adults.…”

“…This is consistent with international research; in New Zealand, support for legalizing recreational cannabis use was associated with believing it was morally acceptable to use cannabis while considering cannabis use to be a high health risk was a predictor of not supporting the legislation. 14 In the Netherlands, 7% of cannabis users and 50% of non-users were in favour of prohibiting cannabis, 32 while research from Australia reported that being a cannabis user had a large positive effect on support for legalization. 17 , 31 While we observed that being a past cannabis user also had a positive effect on support for legalization, the magnitude of association was less than half the size of the effect of being a recent cannabis user.…”

“… 13 However, in New Zealand, demographic variables were not found to be predictors of support to legalize recreational cannabis use. Instead, perceptions of the health risk and moral views of cannabis use, agreeing with the use of cannabis for medical reasons and living in a small town were associated with support 14 In Australia, support for recreational cannabis legalization was related to high income, past or recent cannabis use, high-risk drinking and current tobacco use. 15 …”