Majority of California voters support legalizing Recreational Marijuana

Posted by Sagar Satapathy on September 15, 2016.

Majority of California voters are supporting to legalize recreational marijuana and favoring the Proposition 64 on the November ballot, according to two new polls released this week.

A poll, conducted by USC Dornsife and the Los Angeles Times, showed that 58 percent voters in the state support Proposition 64, while another poll made by Survey USA found that 52 percent of California voters support the same measure.

The Los Angeles Times survey revealed that out of the 1,879 survey respondents, only 11 percent of those sampled currently use marijuana recreationally and 86 percent responded that they do not. Sixty-seven percent of voters age 18-24 and 50 percent of voters age 65 and older support the proposition.

Among the supporters, the measure is doing best among the younger voters e.g.  67 percent of those 18 to 24 years of age said they would vote for Proposition 64. About 50 percent of voters 65 years and older support the measure, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Medical marijuana is currently legal in California, but Proposition 64, or the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, proposes the legalization of recreational marijuana for adults 21 or older.

The proposed measure Proposition 64 would allow Californians adults age 21 or older to possess, transport and use up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational purposes, and also allow individuals to grow as many as six plants. Those who want to smoke pot could do it only in their homes and shops where the drug is sold. The measure would also impose a 15% tax on retail sales of the drug.

In 2010, the last time California voted for marijuana legalization, nearly 54 percent of voters opposed the Marijuana Initiative --Proposition 19, similar to Proposition 64 for the November ballot.

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