Pubdate: Sat, 10 Jul 2010
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Page: AA1, continued on page AA7
Copyright: 2010 Los Angeles Times
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/bc7El3Yo
Website: http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: John Hoeffel
Referenced: The Field Poll 
http://www.field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/Rls2342.pdf
Cited: Proposition 19 http://www.taxcannabis.org/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Proposition+19

OPPOSITION TO POT MEASURE GAINS NARROW LEAD IN POLL

In Contrast to Earlier Results, Survey Finds That 48% of Likely 
Voters Are Against Prop. 19

Californians who intend to vote in November narrowly oppose 
Proposition 19, which would make the state the first to legalize 
marijuana possession and sales, according to a recent survey.

The Field Poll found that 48% of likely voters oppose the measure and 
44% support it, a contrast with two polls taken in May that showed 
voters were leaning slightly in favor of the measure.

"History suggests that chances aren't good when you start out 
behind," said Mark DiCamillo, the director of the poll. But he said 
the results were close enough that the measure has a chance to win. 
"It depends on the quality of the campaign."

The poll found a very high level of awareness of the initiative with 
more than three-quarters of likely voters saying that they have heard 
about it. Those voters back it 48% to 44%. But likely voters who had 
not heard about the measure until they were told about it by the poll 
takers oppose it by 2 to 1.

The initiative would allow people 21 and older to possess, grow and 
transport marijuana for personal use, and would authorize cities and 
counties to regulate and tax commercial sales.

DiCamillo said he expected opponents to assert that the measure will 
lead to more crime and addiction, while proponents argue that it will 
bring in tax revenue in a time of endless budget crises. "That's 
where the tug of war is, societal impacts versus the financial 
benefits," he said.

Roger Salazar, the spokesman for Public Safety First, an opposition 
committee connected to law enforcement groups, said the poll shows 
voters are becoming more skeptical. "Any time you have an initiative 
written as confusingly as this one is, people aren't going to give it 
the benefit of the doubt," he said. "There's no certainty in terms of 
the revenues, there's no certainty of how this is going to impact law 
enforcement and public safety."

Dale Sky Clare, a spokeswoman for the Proposition 19 campaign, said 
the poll shows that the challenge will be to educate voters about the 
regulations the measure imposes and the tax revenues it could 
produce. "The folks that are familiar with the proposition itself, 
that have educated themselves on the proposition, find that they like 
it," she said. "This is going to be a nail-biter to the very end."

The Field Poll randomly surveyed 1,005 likely voters between June 22 
and July 5, interviewing participants by telephone in English, 
Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean and Vietnamese. The poll had a 
margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

The poll found that while white voters support the measure, Latino, 
black and Asian American voters heavily oppose it. DiCamillo said he 
was surprised by the intensity of the opposition. "There just might 
be greater concerns within the ethnic community about the social 
effects," he said.

The Bay Area is the only region that supports the measure. Los 
Angeles County, where a quarter of the voters live, is split over it; 
San Diego and Orange counties oppose it.

Men are evenly divided, but women oppose it by 9 points.

Likely voters younger than 30 heavily support it. They are joined by 
likely voters between 50 and 64 who came of age during the Vietnam 
War. Likely voters who are 65 and older oppose it 57% to 33%. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake