[420 Girl]

Marijuana smokers and non-smokers agree: legalize the sale of cannabis.

52% of California voters support Proposition 19 that would legalize, regulate and tax the purchase and sale of marijuana in the State of California. 36% of voters oppose the proposition.

38% of Californians say they’ve smoked marijuana. Still, 44% of those who claim they’ve never tried marijuana support its legalization. Prop 19 supporters aren't all smokers, suggesting that many Californian's believe the legalization of marijuana is about more than smoking pot and could be the solution to some of California's bigger problems.

Democrats are more likely to throw their support behind the prop than Republicans. 62% of Democrats, 37% of Republicans and 55% of Independents support Prop 19.

African-Americans are the strongest supporters of Prop 19; 68:32, followed by Whites, who support it 53:37. The black community’s strong support for Prop 19 may be closely related to the disproportionate number of African Americans in prison on marijuana charges. Despite representing 7% of CA’s population, African Americans represent 50% of prisoners in California on marijuana charges.

There is little discrepancy between generations. 65+ is the only age group that opposes the legalization of marijuana; 39:47.

While I am a little skeptical that everyone responded truthfully when asked if they smoked, those who were willing seem to have been truthful about their smoking behavior. 66% of those who said they’ve smoked marijuana said it was always recreational, 11% said it was for medical proposes and 23% said it was for both.

Legalizing marijuana has favor in the public eye and finding an effective way to control and tax the drug may be good news for the California budget in more than one way. With increased income from taxes the budget will get a boost. The state will save millions, from prisons to resources spent on stopping marijuana trafficking. This poll reaffirms that isn't about wanting access to marijuana its a much deeper political issue that Californians understand-- marijuana is tied to immigration, prisons, the economy and much more.


NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Public Policy Polling
Author: Elena Fanjul-Debnam
Contact: Public Policy Polling
Copyright: 2010 Public Policy Polling
Website: Two Fifths of Californians Have Tried Marijuana and More Want it Legalized

* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article


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