VOTERS LEANING TOWARD LEGALIZING MARIJUANA

California voters are leaning toward making the Golden State the
first state in the nation to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

In a new Field Poll of likely voters for the Nov. 2 election, the
Proposition 19 marijuana initiative leads by a 49 percent to 42 percent margin.

The measure holds heavy majorities among voters who are younger than
40 and those who live in the populous San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles.

The measure, largely favored by Democrats, trails decidedly among
Republicans and is losing by a nearly 2-1 margin in the Central Valley.

The Sept. 14-21 Field Poll of 599 likely voters has a margin of error
of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

However, the new poll shows an increase in support for Proposition 19
since a Field Poll in July had the measure losing, 48 percent to 44 percent.

Matthew Hostler, 30, a Sacramento project manager for an online video
games company, is solidly in the Yes on 19 camp.

Hostler thinks it was mistake for the United States to make marijuana
illegal in the first place. Now, he says, "What better way than to
have California make the change."

But other voters are less sure about the initiative, which would
expand legal marijuana use in California beyond the medical use
approved under Proposition 215 in 1996.

Leslie Claridge-Town, 33, of Sacramento has concerns about vagueness
in the initiative language. She also has doubts about its potential
to produce significant revenue from taxes on marijuana sales.

"I'm actually a bit torn," said Claridge-Town, a stay-at-home mother
who is studying for a degree in marriage and family therapy. "I think
it should be legalized. But I'm starting to question that this is the
right way to go about it."

According to the Field Poll, voters also support a measure to allow
the state Legislature to pass budgets on a simple majority vote.

The budgeting measure, Proposition 25, was leading by a 46 percent to
30 percent margin. But its lead has dropped measurably from a 65
percent to 20 percent margin in July.

Another measure, Proposition 23, which would suspend the state's
greenhouse gas reduction law until California's unemployment rate
drops below 5.5 percent for four consecutive quarters, is losing by a
45 percent to 34 percent margin.

The closely watched Proposition 19 would permit all Californians 21
and older to legally possess an ounce or less of marijuana and grow
their own pot in a 25-square-foot growing space per residence or parcel.

The initiative also would allow local governments to approve higher
possession limits and to tax and regulate retail pot sales,
cultivation and distribution.

The measure ultimately may highlight just how much California's
attitude toward marijuana has evolved.

A Field Poll in July found that 47 percent of registered voters had
tried marijuana at least once and that 50 percent favor some form of
legalization.

Nearly four-fifths of California voters approve of medical marijuana
use being legal even though 57 percent said in the July poll that the
boom in medical pot shops made it easier to obtain marijuana without
a serious medical condition.

"It's generational," said Mark DiCamillo, director of the California
Field Poll. He said people don't think the existing law enforcement
approach to marijuana is helping that much. "And almost half of
voters have smoked marijuana," he said. "So it's not something
mysterious or clearly counterculture."

But DiCamillo said marijuana in the Golden State stokes the "classic
blue California vs. red California political divide."

He said voter turnout by party and region likely will determine the outcome.

But voters such as Jonathan Hensley, a 38-year-old Sacramento
accountant and U.S. Coast Guard veteran, break from party majorities
on marijuana.

Though most fellow Democrats back Proposition 19, Hensley said, "I'm
not in favor of legalizing substances that are mind-altering."

He said he is concerned that more people may drive under the
influence of marijuana if Proposition 19 passes. And he said
California already is struggling to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries.

"I don't see this as a revenue source at this time," he said. "I see
it as a cost to society."

Republican Rosalie Martin, a retired nurse in Clovis, is "on the
fence" over how she'll vote.

"On one hand, I'm personally disgusted by marijuana," she said. "On
the other, I think so much time is spent by the police on even small
amounts that people have in their possession. They're not dealers.
They're users."

Martin, 63, said she is unsure "exactly how far legalization will
take us." But she added: "Just let people grow what they want in
their backyard and be done with it."

"Almost half of voters have smoked marijuana. So it's not something
mysterious or clearly counterculture."