Colorado Marijuana Legalization Amendment Leads 53% to 43%
By: Jon Walker Friday October 26, 2012 7:59 am
Colorado’s Amendment 64, which would legalize marijuana and regulate it like alcohol, holds a ten point lead according to the latestPPP survey of the state. The poll finds 53 percent of likely voters plan to support the initiative, while only 43 percent plan to vote against it. This is the highest level of support for Amendment 64 found in any public polling in months.
Colorado
PPP (10/23-25)
Amendment 64 is an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning marijuana, and, in connection therewith, providing for the regulation of marijuana; permitting a person twenty-one years of age or older to consume or possess limited amounts of marijuana; providing for the licensing of cultivation facilities, product manufacturing facilities, testing facilities, and retail stores; permitting local governments to regulate or prohibit such facilities; requiring the general assembly to enact an excise tax to be levied upon wholesale sales of marijuana; requiring that the first $40 million in revenue raised annually by such tax be credited to the public school capital construction assistance fund; and requiring the general assembly to enact legislation governing the cultivation, processing, and sale of industrial hemp. If the election was today, would you vote or against Amendment 64?
For ……………………..53%
Against………………..43%
Undecided …………….. 5%
Unlike some other polls of the state, PPP used the actual ballot language in their question, which can be important for accuracy. There can be a noticeable variation in polling about the issue of marijuana legalization depending on the exact wording used. Having the question explicitly state that marijuana would be highly regulated, taxed, and age-restricted tends to make Americans more supportive of the idea of legalizing it.
The last time PPP asked about Amendment 64 in Colorado was at the beginning September. At the time it found 47 percent of likely voters support the ballot initiative while 38 percent opposed. Both the level of support and opposition have increased by roughly the same margin, which is good news for Amendment 64 since undecideds normally break against initiatives as election day gets closer.
While it is going to be extremely close, this poll is a solid indication that the voters of Colorado are likely to legalize marijuana this November. With less than two weeks until the election, every public poll released currently shows it with a small but real lead.