Sativa Steve (R) smells a marijuana bud as he waits on a customer in a medicinal cannabis shop in San Francisco on June 7, 2005. People with a doctor's recommendation and a card from the California Department of Public Health can purchase from the store.The Supreme Court dealt a blow to the medical marijuana movement 6/6, ruling that the federal government can still ban possession of the drug in states. (UPI Photo/Terry Schmitt) |
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SACRAMENTO, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Support is waning for controversial California ballot measures that would legalize marijuana and suspend the state's global warming law, a policy poll indicated
Results of a Public Policy Institute of California poll indicate voters now oppose the marijuana legalization initiative 49 percent to 44 percent, and the proposal to suspend the state's law designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions, 48 percent to 37 percent, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
The marijuana initiative, Proposition 19, would allow Californians who are 21 and older to grow and own the weed, while cities and counties could authorize commercial cultivation, sales and taxation.
Mark Baldassare, the institute's pollster, said the drop in support may be from the lack of a visible campaign,
"The burden of proof is always on the yes side," he said.
Proposition 23 would suspend the Global Warming Solutions Act until unemployment in the state drops to 5.5 percent for at least a year, a level seldom reached for that time frame, the Times said. The jobless rate in California is above 12 percent.
A statewide television ad campaign by opponents characterizing the initiative as a "deceptive scheme" financed by "two Texas oil companies" apparently is having its desired effect, the Times said.
"The voters are very cynical about initiatives," Baldassare said. "They assume that there is some interest group that is behind it unless they hear otherwise."
The survey of 1,067 likely voters was conducted Oct. 10-17. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points.
