Do Washingtonians want to be legally allowed to spark up this 4/20? A new poll from marijuana advocates says that they do.
Seventy-five percent of respondents to the poll, sponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance and the Marijuana Policy Project, supported making marijuana possession a civil, not criminal offense. Sixty-three percent of residents polled also supported Colorado-style laws that would allow for marijuana to be legally sold and taxed.
Some other takeaways from the poll, which didn’t include a margin of error:
- 63 percent supported replacing criminal penalties for marijuana growers with three or fewer plants with fines.
- 78 percent supported expanding the list of ailments that qualify for medical marijuana.
- 67 percent said they would prefer law enforcement resources were directed away from marijuana possession arrests.
The Washington Post‘s Mike DeBonis points out that a 2010 poll found Washingtonians more evenly divided on marijuana legalization. Whatever the percentage of Washingtonians in support of reducing pot penalties, though, it isn’t translating into political success for pro-decriminalization D.C. Council at-large candidate Paul Zukerberg. The poll found that only 2 percent of respondents would vote for him.
Marijuana photo by Shutterstock