California is a tricky place when it comes to politics in general, and is even trickier when it comes to marijuana politics. I have always felt that a majority of Californians support marijuana legalization, but it gets murky when details are introduced. Below is information about a poll that was recently released stating that a large majority of likely California voters support ending marijuana prohibition. I’m curious to see how that translates on an Election Day though. How many will be lost when ‘fill in the blank details’ are added? How do we keep those voters? California is way overdue when it comes to marijuana legalization. Will we see them added to the list of legal states in 2014? 2016? After 2016…?
by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
Six out of ten likely California voters support making cannabis legal, according to survey data released yesterday by the Public Policy Institute of California. Sixty-eight percent of likely voters also believe that the US government should not enforce federal anti-marijuana laws in states that have approved the plant’s use. The percentages are the highest ever reported by the polling firm in favor of allowing adults to possess and consume cannabis socially.
Support for marijuana law reform fell slightly among all adults. Among all Californians, not just likely voters, 52 percent responded that “marijuana should be made legal,” and 61 percent believed that the federal government should not interfere with statewide marijuana laws.
Men (57 percent), Democrats (64 percent), and Independents (60 percent) were more likely to express support for legalizing marijuana than were women (47 percent) or Republicans (45 percent). Caucasians (63 percent) and African Americans (61 percent) also expressed far greater support for legalization than did Asians (48 percent) or Latinos (36 percent).
Pollsters surveyed 1,703 Californians, including 1,429 registered voters. The PPIC poll possesses a margin of error of between 3.7 percent.
In recent months, polls in several other states — including Arizona, Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma — have shown majority support for marijuana law reform, as have national polls.
Source: NORML – make a donation
