That’s right. Only 16 percent of Americans believe the current cannabis prohibition laws should be kept in place, according to a new poll conducted earlier this year by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy.

What’s even more impressive is 49 percent of those polled favored the legalization of cannabis entirely. Twenty-nine percent favored medical-only legalization, and five percent backed decriminalization. Just 1 percent of those polled weren’t sure how to answer.

Along the party lines

While Republicans haven’t been the most accepting of legalized cannabis, only 25 percent stated they think the current cannabis policy should stay in place. The approval for medical and social cannabis legalization among Republicans was the same at 36 percent.

Independents had the highest rate of approval for social cannabis at 57 percent, followed by Democrats at 55 percent. For medical only, Independents and Democrats approved of its legalization at 24 percent and 25 percent, respectively.

By age, sex and race

Those younger than 50-years-old only approved of the current cannabis laws at 8 percent, with their elder counterparts favoring at 25 percent. Those 50-years-old and older did however approve of cannabis for social use at 44 percent, with those younger approving at ten points higher.

Both men and women who answered the poll approved of the current cannabis laws at 16 percent, while men favored social use at 53 percent and women at 46 percent. Women believed cannabis should be decriminalized at 7 percent, more than twice the rate of men.

White Americans approved of the current cannabis laws at 18 percent, followed by black Americans at 12 percent and Hispanic Americans at 10 percent. Black Americans had the highest rate of approval for social cannabis legalization at 54 percent, followed by Hispanic Americans at 53 percent and White Americans at 47 percent.

Across the country

Regionally, only 9 percent of those polled living in the Pacific Coast said they approve of the current cannabis policy, followed by 12 percent in the Northeast; 13 percent in the Midwest; 14 percent in the West; and 25 percent in the South.

It comes as no surprise that the highest approval rating for legalization of social cannabis was in the Pacific Coast at 63 percent, followed by the Northeast at 46 percent; Midwest at 48 percent; West at 45 percent; and South at 39 percent.

The lesson here? A big majority of Americans are ready for change when it comes to federal cannabis policy. Now we wait for our representatives to catch up.