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Poll: Colorado Wants Marijuana Legalized, Regulated Like Booze and Smokes
A just-released statewide poll by Rasmussen Reports provides strong evidence that Colorado may likely become the first state to re-legalize and regulate the personal use of marijuana this November.
On June 6th, Rasmussen Polling conducted a survey of likely voters in Colorado and found majority support for marijuana legalization. Sixty-one percent of those surveyed supported legalizing marijuana if it were regulated like alcohol and cigarettes. Only 27 percent of respondents are opposed to legalization and 12 percent remain undecided.
This is great news for Amendment 64, a 2012 statewide ballot initiative to end marijuana prohibition and regulate marijuana like alcohol, which will appear on the Colorado ballot this November. Rasmussen’s recent survey shows support shifting upwards from previous polling. In December 2011, Public Policy Polling reported that 49 percent of Coloradan’s believed that marijuana use should be legal versus 40 percent who believed it should remain illegal.
Lately, the mainstream media has caught on to the important role that Amendment 64 will play in this fall’s presidential election. This poll is just further proof of that claim’s validity. During the same time period, Rasmussen polled Colorado voters on their presidential preference and respondents were split, 45 percent for Obama and 45 percent support for Romney. Amendment 64 promises to turn out greater numbers of independent minded and youth voters in November, if either candidate embraced rational marijuana policy reforms, this important battleground state could be theirs to win.
You can learn more about Amendment 64 in Colorado here.
You can view more data on the Rasmussen poll here.
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Comments
@CRW - I don't think you know
@CRW - I don't think you know how things are moving along here in Colorado. Yes, the DEA has cracked down on a couple dispensaries, but the number of these businesses in our state still exceeds that of Starbucks Coffee.
Our own representative here in the 2nd District of Colorado (Jared Polis) recently mocked our state's top DEA representative because they claimed that marijuana would cause "mold and water damage."
Personally, I have myself had officers in my city enter my apartment for noise violations. I had no problems doing so - I have several 'utensils' for consumption of said substance, which were in plain view. I also had a small Ziploc bag full of the substance in question that an officer picked up, put back down, and walked out.
In fact, I was informed by the officers that we would likely have not been as loud if we had simply been smoking cannabis instead of drinking. They asked us to turn down the music and noise, and left without a problem. No one in the apartment even had a red card (our term in Colorado for a medical marijuana card). All they asked for was identification to prove that we were all at least 21 years of age.
Of course, the decision rests on the shoulders of the officer, and if you were driving while high you would most definitely receive severe legal penalties. I have been pulled over for speeding with cannabis in the car. They asked if there was any marijuana in the car, and I was honest and told them that I had recently picked up an 8th. I handed it to them, they examined it, and returned it upon seeing my license stating I was over 21 years of age - again without asking for a red card. I got a speeding ticket (9 over in a 40), but that was it - no mention of the pot on the ticket.
The simple fact is that most people in the state of Colorado support this measure, and the police have decided that they have more important things to worry about as long as you do not drive intoxicated (if there's smoke in the car, say hello to a DWAI or DWI)
Head down to Boulder, CO, and you will see people openly smoking marijuana on the paths and streets. On April 20th every year, you can hardly walk a quarter mile without seeing a group of people with a pipe.
I have lived in Ann Arbor and
I have lived in Ann Arbor and East Lansing Michigan where consumption of marijuana is practically legal. Our anal legislature changed the law to say that local ordinances cannot be less strict than state law, but the reality is that almost no one is arrested during the "Hash Bash" in Ann Arbor every year.
This being said, distributors are the real targets. If CO legalizes pot, I would agree that individual consumers are very unlikely to get harassed, but some people moving larger quantities will be going to federal prison.
Until the feds are on board,
Until the feds are on board, some people are going to think they are safe until they end up in federal prison.
New York state ended alcohol
New York state ended alcohol prohibition 10 years before the feds did. No way can the feds lock up the entire state of Colorado, unless they want to put a fence around it like the movie "Escape from New York".
No... but distributors,
No... but distributors, retailers, etc, will get long prison sentences when they are busted.
We'll see. "Snake" Pliskin
We'll see. "Snake" Pliskin made it out of New York alive. Seriously though, how is the scenario that you are proposing any different from what goes on today?
In case you have missed it,
In case you have missed it, there have been many federal raids on medical marijuana distributors. I live in Michigan, and there was a raid four miles from house by the DEA.
There is a big difference between behind the scenes distributors and selling bags of dope in a convenience store. C'mon! Do you really think the feds will let this slide unless there is national legalization? No way!
What I do expect is that if Colorado follows through, the debate will come to a head. Either enforcement will go through the roof or legalization will move forward. This would be a good debate to have.
I always enjoy debating you,
I always enjoy debating you, CRW. You know that :-)