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ODU study shows majority of Hampton Roads residents support marijuana legalization

The report comes ahead of the General Assembly session that starts Wednesday, where the criminalization of marijuana will be a hot topic.

NORFOLK, Va. — A new study from Old Dominion University shows 65% of Hampton Roads residents think marijuana should be made legal.

The report comes ahead of the General Assembly session that starts Wednesday, where the criminalization of marijuana will be a hot topic.

Tancy Vandecar-Burdin, Director of the Social Science Research Center at ODU, conducted the 2019 Life in Hampton Roads survey and said those results are consistent with recent national surveys.

“Perhaps people are seeing legalization in other states and perhaps realizing that there are other issues that law enforcement should be focusing on,” said Vandecar-Burdin.

A little more than 25% of respondents believe marijuana should not be legal and 6.6% said they “don’t know.”

In December, Attorney General Mark Herring has said that Virginia needs to overhaul Virginia’s cannabis laws, arguing they negatively and disproportionately affect African Americans and people of color.

“Polling shows that the vast majority of Virginians support decriminalization and legalization,” said Herring in a December interview. “This is an area where I think the legislature has been behind where the people are and I think this is their chance to get this right.”

Vandecar-Burdin says data shows the majority of those who support legalization are young and identify as male and Democrat.

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