Californians’ supports for legalizing marijuana is now even higher than when they approved the reform at the ballot in 2016, a new poll shows, and a solid majority of voters also want cannabis retailers to be operating in their own neighborhoods.
The survey from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) that was released on Monday found that 64 percent of residents support marijuana legalization. Likely voters are even more supportive, with 69 percent backing legalization.
When legalization was on the ballot seven years ago, the reform passed with a slimmer majority, with 57 percent of the vote.
The overall results of the new survey show that a supermajority of Democrats (77 percent) and independents (76 percent) favor legalization. That’s compared to 42 percent of Republicans who back keeping cannabis prohibition off the books.
While more than three in five Californians support legalizing marijuana, a smaller majority (56 percent) say that they want adult-use retailers to operate in their community. Again, likely voters are more likely to favor the commercial activity in their neighborhoods, at 60 percent.
“Although marijuana is legal in California, retail marijuana businesses are banned in 61 percent of cities and counties across the state,” PPIC said.
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