Calif. pot measure has wide U.S. support

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- More Americans than not would welcome a vote by Californians to legalize marijuana, a poll released Monday says.

The survey conducted by Angus Reid Public Opinion finds partisan and generational splits on Proposition 19, which is on Tuesday's ballot.

More than two in five Americans, 42 percent, believe the proposition's passage would be good for the country, while 33 percent disagree.

Half of independents, 49 percent, and almost half of Democrats, 46 percent, would see passage as a positive development, but 43 percent of Republicans would view it with disfavor.

Most respondents aged 18 to 34 – 52 percent – favor the initiative, and support drops to 32 percent of those over 55.

Forty percent expect the measure to pass, while 29 think it will fail.

The online survey of 1,017 American adults was conducted Oct. 22 through 24 and had a margin of error of 3.1 percent, Angus Reid said.