According to a California Field Poll released on Wednesday, the majority of Golden State voters are in favor of legalizing and regulating marijuana like alcohol for recreational use.  The Sacramento Bee expounded on the poll, which also stated that an even larger percentage of those polled oppose the federal crackdown on medical marijuana businesses. This sentiment was similar across party lines.

[caption id="attachment_5961" align="alignright" width="115"] Richard Lee[/caption]

Marijuana reform activists were optimistic after learning of the results. Richard Lee, the chief proponent of Proposition 19, the ballot measure that attempted to make marijuana legal for adults in California in 2010, told the Bee:

"I think it shows that [marijuana legalization and regulation is] going to win in 2016, and it's just a matter of writing the best law that we can."

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With only about five weeks left until Election Day, a new Field Poll of likely voters shows California’s Proposition 19 leading 49 to 42 percent, fueled by large majorities of voters younger than 40 and those who live in the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. That’s an extremely promising increase from the last Field Poll taken in June, which showed the initiative losing 48 to 44.

Another poll last week released by PPP also found the initiative leading 47 to 38.

These numbers indicate steadily expanding support for the measure to make marijuana legal for all adults in California, despite the cowardly opposition of nearly every mainstream politician and newspaper in the state.

As campaign contributions have revealed, the groups backing the misguided fight against Prop. 19 – the alcohol industry, narcotics officers, corrections officers – stand to lose much from a regulated marijuana market and are perfectly happy with the continued criminalization of millions of citizens who choose to use a substance that’s safer than alcohol.

On November 2, California voters will have a unique opportunity to combat these private interests by voting for Prop 19 -- a desperately needed measure -- at a time when most public officials are too reluctant or foolish to admit that it’s the right thing to do.

In their hearts, the average voter knows that our current marijuana laws are a failure, and that it is time for change. If these polls are any indication of voter turnout, that change might be coming to California in a matter of weeks.

Stay tuned for updates.

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