Why do men want to legalize pot more than women do?
Recent polling in presidential swing states suggests that the majority of Ohio and Florida voters support the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Pennsylvania voters were mixed on the issue.聽And for some reason, men were far more likely than women to approve of legal cannabis.
滨苍听聽of Florida voters from聽September 25 to October 5,聽57聽percent of men approved of legal marijuana compared to 46 percent of women. And if marijuana were legalized for recreational use in Florida, 70 percent of women say they would 鈥榙efinitely not use鈥� the drug, compared to only 59 percent of men.
, 59 percent of male Ohio voters support marijuana legalization, compared to 47 percent of female voters. And 71 percent of women, and only 57 percent of men, said they would 鈥榙efinitely not use鈥� the drug if it were legalized. 聽
The gender discrepancy in Ohio and Florida disappears when voters are asked about legalized marijuana for medical use, as both genders significantly favor legalizing marijuana with a doctor鈥檚 prescription.
鈥淚f men are from Mars and women are from Venus, then the Red Planet might be the more spacey place,鈥� Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll said in a . 鈥淢en are more likely than women to support legalization of marijuana for recreational use.鈥�
And a poll published by the this spring shows similar evidence at the national level. Men out-support women in marijuana legalization 57 to 49 percent.
Dr. Tammy Anderson, a professor of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Delaware, told 海角大神 that males support recreational marijuana more because they smoke it more.
鈥淢en historically and presently report a higher rate of illegal drug use than do women,鈥� Dr. Anderson explained by phone. 鈥淢en smoke marijuana more frequently and more recently than women so a discrepancy would make sense 鈥� they want it to be legalized so they don鈥檛 get in trouble.鈥�
So why is pot 鈥榓 guy鈥檚 thing鈥�? Anderson says it has everything to do with society.
鈥淭here is more lawbreaking behavior in males. 鈥楤oys will be boys鈥� encaptures the culture moniker,鈥� Anderson says. And because females are more concerned with social expectations, the difference comes down to gender norms.
This image is reinforced through a 鈥減ot smoker stereotype,鈥� to Dr. Wendy Chapkis, Director of the Women and Gender Studies program at the University of Southern Maine. 鈥淭he slacker attitude relies on a mismatch between expectation and condition; this is why it is most available to white heterosexual men with some measure of class privilege.鈥�
Dr. Chapkis says the present聽 is lacking perspective.
鈥淚nattention to gendered stereotypes and inequalities creates obstacles to women鈥檚 full participation in drug policy reform and complicates efforts to end marijuana prohibition in the US,鈥� says Chapkis.
