Washington Voters Are 'Likely to Legalize Marijuana on Tuesday'

The latest polls indicate that most Washington voters continue to favor marijuana legalization, while Colorado voters are not quite as enthusiastic but still may approve this unprecedented reform.

The latest polls indicate that most Washington voters continue to favor marijuana legalization, while Colorado voters are not quite as enthusiastic but still may approve this unprecedented reform. In a survey conducted by Public Policy Polling from Thursday through Saturday, 53 percent of likely voters said they support Washington's Initiative 502, which would legalize possession of up to an ounce by adults 21 or older and authorize state-licensed pot shops. The polling organization says Washington voters are "likely to legalize marijuana on Tuesday."

In Colorado a SurveyUSA poll conducted last week put support for Amendment 64, which would allow home cultivation as well as state-licensed sales, at 50 percent, with 44 percent opposed and 6 percent undecided. The Denver Post reports that the measure is "tied among voters who said they had already cast a ballot," while "its biggest lead was among people who said they would be voting on Election Day." SurveyUSA observes:

Passage would be driven largely by the support of younger voters, who sometimes are less reliable, turnout-wise, than are older voters. Older voters oppose Amendment 64, and if the amendment should go down to defeat, it will be because younger Coloradans talked the talk but did not walk the voting-booth walk.

Garrett Quinn recently talked to the people behind the Amendment 64 and I-502 campaigns. On Friday I outlined what will happen if voters approve one or both initiatives.