Poll: Majority favors decriminalizing marijuana

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Indiana may be in a mood to ease its marijuana laws. That's one conclusion from the new WISH-TV / Ball State University Hoosier Survey.

The pollsters found 53% of the people surveyed said they favor decriminalizing marijuana in Indiana. 41% would object to such a change.

Support for decriminalization is highest among young Hoosiers. For 18 to 24-year-olds, it's 69%.  The support tends to wane among older age groups.

The survey discovered 57% of their high-income respondents, people with incomes of more than $100,000 a year, also support decriminalization. Fifty-nine percent of people with at least four years of college do, too.

Bill Levin, the Chairman of the Board of Re-Legalize Indiana, told 24-Hour-News 8 he liked seeing the economic distribution. He said it shows that the changing attitude toward marijuana is "spread out among all Hoosiers. It's not poor. it's not rich."

Re-Legalize Indiana is a political action committee that wants to ease Indiana's marijuana laws, much like the changes approved by voters in Washington and Colorado.  "So, the wall has tumbled," Levin said.  "It's crumbling before our eyes.  And hopefully cannabis will be legal in North America, from coast to coast, here, very soon."

At least one state legislator, Brent Steele, has said he will introduce such legislation in the next session of the Indiana General Assembly.

The proposal will encounter some opposition. Our poll discovered 44% of central Indiana objects to decriminalization. The opposition measured 39% in northern Indiana and 40% in southern counties.

Critics of marijuana use contend decriminalization would only encourage marijuana use and would lead to the use of more serious drugs.