Recreational use of marijuana is illegal in Iowa and under federal law, but Des Moines officials on Monday took steps to make marijuana possession law enforcement’s lowest priority.
The City Council, as part of a unanimous vote to adopt an anti-racial profiling ordinance, agreed to create a task force to study marijuana decriminalization. The six-person volunteer group will make recommendations about potential city and state action by Oct. 1, the resolution says.
Here’s what you need to know about marijuana laws and enforcement in Iowa:
Majority of Iowans support legalization
A majority of Iowans say they want Iowa’s medical marijuana laws to be expanded, and for marijuana to be legalized for recreational use, according to a March Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll.
It was the first time the Iowa Poll had shown a majority, 53%, of Iowans supporting recreational marijuana. Support has ticked up steadily since Selzer & Co., which conducts the Iowa Poll, started asking about it in February 2013. In that poll, just 29% of Iowans supported legalizing recreational marijuana.
Men and women support legalization at about the rate, but there is an age divide among Iowans, the poll showed. Seventy-five percent of people younger than 35 support legalizing recreational marijuana, and 56% of people aged 35 to 54 support legalizing it. But for people 55 and older, support of legalized recreational marijuana drops to 34%.
Read the full story at the Des Moines Register.