Marijuana legalization advocates got some good news over the weekend. According to a new poll from Rasmussen Reports, a strong majority of Colorado voters are in favor of legalizing marijuana.
The survey of 500 of likely voters in Colorado conducted on June 6, 2012 shows sixty-one percent are in favor legalizing marijuana if it is regulated the way that alcohol and cigarettes are currently regulated.
That is the highest percentage of Colorado voter support that any marijuana legalization poll has shown to date. In December of 2011, a similar poll from Public Policy Polling showed only 49 percent in favor of general legalization of marijuana.
Betty Aldworth, advocacy director of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol -- a pot advocacy group behind Amendment 64 the 2012 statewide ballot initiative to end marijuana prohibition in Colorado -- said this about the poll in a press statement:
The vast majority of Coloradans appear to be ready to end marijuana prohibition and replace it with a more responsible system in which it is regulated and taxed similarly to alcohol. Our current system of prohibition is the worst possible system when it comes to keeping marijuana away from teens. It is driving marijuana into the underground market where proof of age is not required and where other illegal products might be available.
By regulating marijuana like alcohol, we can better control it and generate significant and much-needed tax revenue for the state. We can also stop making adults criminals simply for using a substance that is objectively less harmful than alcohol.
Coloradans will be voting on whether the state should legalize marijuana this November and it's a vote that some say could affect the presidential race in the state where marijuana dispensaries in Denver alone (400) outnumber the Starbucks throughout the entire state (375), The Denver Post first reported.
Amendment 64 seeks to legalize marijuana for recreational use for adults and will appear on Colorado ballots this November. This will be the second time Coloradans will vote on recreational pot legislation -- state voters considered and rejected a similar recreational pot legalization initiative in 2006. But Mason Tvert, co-director of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, believes that Colorado has come a long way since 2006:
More Coloradans than ever before are aware of the fact that marijuana is not as dangerous as they have been led to believe and is actually far less harmful than alcohol. They have also seen firsthand via our medical marijuana system that it is possible for the state and localities to regulate and control the production and distribution of marijuana. They have read stories that quote law enforcement officials acknowledging that it has not contributed to crime or caused any significant problems. The environment here has changed dramatically.
It's yet another piece of good news for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol which just last week received support for Amendment 64 from industrial hemp leaders. Dr. David Bronner, the creator of the popular Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps line of natural soap products, donated $50,000 to the Campaign.
Amendment 64 also recently received support from both Republicans and Democrats -- in March, 56 percent of the delegates at the Denver County Republican Assembly voted to support the legislation, and in April, the Colorado Democratic Party officially endorsed Amendment 64 and added a marijuana legalization plank to the current party platform.
Below, where you can find legalized medical marijuana in the United States:
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