For a long time, marijuana advocacy was left to the hippies, artists, and other marginalized members of society. Throughout the thousands of years of its use, it was only in the last century that cannabis went through serious changes in the laws, and 1930's propaganda saw the start of the war on this plant. A lot of the anti-pot sentiments are founded on outdated claims and outright lies, going so far back when people were still segregating whites and black. In the late 1960's, a survey conducted by Gallup showed that only 12% favored legalization. It reached 24% by the end of the 70's, but support declined back to 17% by 1991. In 2002, it was found that 32% thought marijuana should be legal. The latest polling by PEW Research Center resulted in an astounding 52% in 2013, with the majority in favor of marijuana legalization, for the first time in history. Today, support for marijuana and drug law reform is reaching a record high. Several nations, including 18 U.S. states are enjoying the medicinal benefits of marijuana, with Colorado and Washington taking a step further and legalizing its recreational use (for adults 21 and above). California, which is also known for a thriving pot culture, failed to legalize recreational use of marijuana in 2010, but the votes differed by only a very small margin (less than 10%). Now, the Public Policy Institute of California surveyed residents and found that 52% of them supported legalization and believed that the federal law should not interfere with their state law. In the political sector, 64% of democrats favored legalization, while only 45% of republicans did. That is still an impressive number for the more conservative party, and we can probably expect to see it rise in the coming years. Among independents, 60% said yes to pot. Other states are following this example, with Alaska, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont looking just about ready to lobby for absolute legalization with regulation. It looks as if California can expect the legal recreational use soon, the freedom to light a doobie without prosecution. Of course, there is still the federal law that advocates have to deal with, but they are taking the cautious steps towards reform. Starting with residents, the state government is expressing the demands of the people, and in a democratic system, it seems that the 52% of pro-pot voters in California have the power to make the change.
What we want and what actually gets put Into the bill are two hole different things. Current one looks like bs and most likely won't pass again
Cali is heading towards a tighter system regardless of who supports tighter measures or not. In the Spring the Cali legislature will vote on a much more regulated medical system. I have no idea if it will pass but this is not a vote by the people (ballot initiative), this is a vote by lawmakers. I believe what most likely will happen is it will pass to comply with the Feds new memo so dispensaries can begin to conduct business as legal entities, and pay taxes accordingly. IF it passes, and a new system is implimented that requires all the bells and whistles most Cali growers dont want, I believe by 2016, the people that now oppose legal recreational will have much less opposition because the things they dont want will already be in place.