Legal marijuana remains big “millennial problem” for Clinton

A recent poll suggested that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton needs to openly endorse legal marijuana to boost her support among millennials, but any such move would likely alienate older voters.

The issue of legal marijuana remains a big “millennial problem” for Clinton. A poll conducted by Quinnipiac showed that only 31 per cent of likely voters in the age group of 18 to 34 years said they supported her. Nearly 29 per cent said they would vote for third-party candidate Gary Johnson.

Any loss in support among young voters, who want the government to legalize marijuana, could spell a really serious trouble for the Democratic candidate.

The Quinnipiac poll indicated that 69 per cent of registered voters in the age group of 18 to 34 want marijuana to be legalized. A Pew Research Center poll showed that 77 per cent of millennial Democratic voters want legal marijuana. Nearly 63 per cent of millennial Republicans also strongly support legalization of the recreational weed.

Marijuana reform group Marijuana Majority’s Tom Angell said, “All the data seems to indicate that endorsing marijuana legalization before Election Day would be a net gain for Hillary Clinton, one which she badly needs in order to help ensure a victory.”

But, those numbers get reversed among older voters. Nearly 24 per cent of American voters in the age group of 55 to 64 said they were less likely to vote for a candidate who would support marijuana legalization. Among seniors, 40 per cent argued that supporting marijuana legalization would be a negative.