San Francisco, CA: A majority of California voters says that cannabis should be legal to possess and purchase, according to the results of the 2013 annual Field Poll. The poll has been measuring Californians’ support for legalizing cannabis since 1969, when just 13 percent of respondents supported legalization.
Forty-seven percent of respondents backed legalizing marijuana "with age and other controls, like those for alcohol." An additional eight percent of respondents supported legalizing marijuana without any restrictions.
Only 31 percent of respondents said that they supported the strict enforcement of present laws or enacting tougher laws against cannabis.
Fifty-six percent of respondents also said that they would vote ‘yes’ in favor of a proposed 2014 ballot measure to legalize the plant’s production, possession, and sale.
A previous statewide poll conducted in October by the state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties reported that 65 percent of likely voters would support a proposal "to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana in California for adults."
The Field Poll surveyed opinions of 1,002 randomly selected California voters. The poll possesses a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percent.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director or Erik Altieri, NORML Communications Director, at (202) 483-5500.