Californians
support legalizing pot in greater numbers than ever — and they want
the federal government to cool it with the crackdowns on medical
marijuana dispensaries.
In a Field Poll released Wednesday, California voters, by a margin of 54 percent to 43 percent, supported allowing legal sales
of marijuana, as long as restrictions are in place on age, driving
under the influence of the drug and licensing those who sell it. That
represents the highest level of support since the Field Poll began
asking the question 44 years ago, when most California believed pot was
the gateway drug to more hurtful substances.
Only 13 percent of California adults supported legalizing marijuana in 1969 — the
"Now, we’re getting to
the point where baby boomers have lived with this stuff for most of
their lives," said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll.
Two-thirds of 834 registered
voters said they opposed the Obama administration’s raids on medical
marijuana outlets, in which nearly 200 dispensaries — most in
California — were targeted in President Barack Obama’s first term.
Local governments have taken cues from the administration: Two hundred
cities and counties have banned medical marijuana dispensaries.
The state Supreme Court is poised to issue a ruling on whether local governments can shut down dispensaries.
Nearly three-fourths — 72 percent — of Californians back the state’s existing medical
marijuana law, approved by voters in 1996. And a strong majority — 58
percent — would support allowing medical marijuana dispensaries in
their own community.
"Certainly, it’s a rebuke of the Obama
administration’s tactics," said Kris Hermes, a spokesman for
Oakland-based Americans for Safe Access, a medical marijuana advocacy
group. "It should indicate that the Justice Department’s tactics are
unacceptable and should be reconsidered."
Obama once criticized
President George W. Bush for his aggressive approach to shutting down
medical marijuana dispensaries. But Obama is on pace to exceed Bush’s
record of medical marijuana busts.
Though voters support medical
marijuana, just over two years ago they rejected a ballot measure to
legalize pot, Proposition 19, by a 53 to 47 percent margin. Legalization
had only narrow support — 50 to 46 percent — in a Field Poll four
months before that election, and the measure’s chances for success were
derailed by what political analysts called a lackluster campaign and a
vague regulatory plan.
Well-run campaigns and more detailed regulatory plans led to pot legalization last November in Colorado and Washington state.
A coalition of Proposition 19 supporters
met
in December to discuss potential future California ballot measures.
They’ve said that they’re targeting the 2016 presidential election
ballot, though they haven’t ruled out putting it on the ballot in 2014.
A
younger and more tolerant electorate is changing the political
landscape. Among voters between the ages of 18 and 29, legalization has a
58-39 edge; among 30- to 39-year-olds, it has a 61-38 percent
advantage. Voters 65 or older are the least likely to support
legalization, with only 43 percent in favor and 52 percent against.
Independent voters most strongly support legalization, at 59 percent, closely followed by Democrats, at 58 percent.
Only
42 percent of Republicans favor legalization. And Latinos are just as
against it, with only 41 percent in favor. But Latinos between the ages
of 18 and 39 support it, 53 to 47 percent. Only 30 percent of Latinos 40
and older support legalization.
Voters living in the Bay Area are
most likely to support legalizing pot, with 66 percent in favor. Voters
along the coast south of Los Angeles County are the least likely, at 47
percent.
The poll, taken Feb. 5 to 17, has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
