Gallup: Majorities say drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana ‘morally acceptable’

Majorities of Americans in a new poll said they believe it is morally permissible to drink alcohol and smoke marijuana.

Seventy-eight percent of Americans surveyed said that drinking alcohol is morally acceptable while 19 percent said it is morally wrong, according to a Gallup poll released Monday.

With regard to smoking marijuana, 65 percent said it is acceptable while 31 percent said it is wrong, Gallup found.

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The percentage of Americans who said smoking marijuana is morally acceptable closely matches the 64 percent of Americans last fall who said that marijuana should be legal.

It is the first time Gallup has asked about the morality of alcohol and marijuana.

According to the poll, religion is highly influential in Americans’ regard for consuming both alcohol and marijuana.

Highly religious people, measured by the frequency of church attendance, are less likely to find alcohol and marijuana consumption morally acceptable.

Sixty percent of people who attend religious services weekly said drinking alcohol is morally acceptable, while 41 percent said the same of smoking marijuana.

However, 88 percent of people who seldom or never attended church found drinking alcohol acceptable while 75 percent said the same of smoking marijuana, according to Gallup.

Younger people, white people and men are also more likely to approve the consumption of the substances, the poll found.

People who identified as liberals were also more likely to have fewer moral issues with consuming alcohol and marijuana when compared to people who identified as conservatives, Gallup found.

Pollsters questioned 1,024 adults from May 1 to May 10. The margin of error of the survey is 4 percentage points.