More in favour of marijuana

27th January 2012

A new report has shown that almost half of high school students wish to see marijuana legalised.

The research, carried out by the Mazowsze Addiction Prevention Centre, claims that in total 48 percent of 13-15 year-olds are now in favour of making the drug legal.

The new statistics show a huge increase compared to the summer of 2010, when only 27 percent were behind the move.

According to reports in Rzeczpospolita, one of the main factors behind the shift in views has been controversial politician Janusz Palikot.

Last week, the leader of the Palikot Movement (RP) invited members of the Free Hemp Society into the Sejm to smoke a joint to test new laws which give prosecutors a choice over charging people found in possession of soft drugs “for personal use” or not.

Although reports in Super Express state that Mr Palikot in fact only lit marijuana-scented incense sticks, it is believed his stance has helped lead to a change in opinions.

“Support like this shows a response to the psychological effect of information saturation,” says director of the Addiction Prevention Centre, Mariusz Jedrzejko. “Palikot has shown that social engineering and publicity can help shape elections.”

However, the reports claim that despite the rise in support, many teenagers have little knowledge of the drug and only one in five had read any specialised texts regarding the issue.

In addition to more youngsters agreeing with legalisation, the research shows that 72 percent of high school students did not not believe the drug to be addictive. This figure was closely echoed by higher education students, at 78 percent.

---

Add your comment

Your name	Your email
Your town and country	Your comments

---