Poll: Californians Like Cannabis Legalization — A Lot

A majority of Americans support legalizing cannabis and with a ballot initiative in the November election proposing to do just that, a big majority of California voters say theyre on board with recreational marijuana in the countrys most populous state. Nearly two-thirds of respondents to a recent University of California, Berkeley poll said they support the legalization of marijuana with regulation by government agencies, the university announced on Wednesday.

UCs Institute of Governmental Studies polled 3,020 voters in June and July and asked them their feelings about the big issues including gun control as well as cannabis legalization on the upcoming November ballot. Specifically, pollsters asked them if marijuana should be legal for adults to purchase and use recreationally, with regulation similar to that of alcohol. And 63.8 percent of all voters said that it should, with even higher numbers of support among Democrats and young people. Of those polled, 73.8 percent of voters who identified as Democrat said they supported legalizing and regulating cannabis, and among voters under 30, support ranged from 71.3 percent to nearly 75 percent.

Only voters who identified as Republican showed majority opposition to having California join Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and Alaska in allowing adults to use cannabis without a doctors recommendation. If passed, Proposition 64 also known as the Adult Use of Marijuana Act would allow adults 21 and over to purchase and possess up to ...