| Graphic: Cannabis Fantastic |
A narrow majority of Colorado’s registered voters believe marijuana should be legalized, according to a new PPP poll. Voters of the state may have a chance to make that a reality next year.
The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is gathering signatures to put a cannabis legalization measure on the ballot in 2012.
When asked, “Do you think marijuana usage should be legal or illegal?” 51 percent of voters said “legal,” 38 percent said “illegal,” and 11 percent were not sure, reports Jon Walker at Just Say Now.
The breakdown of support in Colorado is almost identical to national patterns of support.
Very liberal voters are the strongest backers of legalization, at 82 percent. Democrats (65 percent) and voters under 30 (71 percent) were also strong supporters of marijuana legalization.
The least supportive groups were very conservative voters (28 percent), Republicans (31 percent), and senior citizens (36 percent).
We have to improve that number among senior citizens, and my friend Robert “The Black Tuna” Platshorn is working to do exactly that with his Silver Tour of senior care facilities. Platshorn, who served 29 years in federal prison to become the longest-serving marijuana prisoner in U.S. history, is teaching seniors the benefits of medical marijuana. You can “Like” The Silver Tour’s Facebook page here.
Interestingly, according to the poll, people who voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 election overwhelmingly support legalization, at 68 percent, with just 21 percent opposing. In Colorado, and very likely nationwide, President Obama’s stance on both recreational and medical marijuana “is radically out of line with his base,” as Walker puts it.
“While majority support for legalization is a good sign for this Colorado campaign, it should be noted that in 2010 the California marijuana legalization measure, Proposition 19, was ahead in early polling but ended up losing narrowly on election day,” Walker writes.
But, as Walker points out, the Colorado effort does have one big advantage over Prop 19 — because they are aiming for the ballot in a Presidential Election year, a much higher turnout is likely among young voters — who strongly support legalization.
