Marijuana Legalization Plan in Arizona Is Polling Surprisingly High

New poll numbers suggest that most Arizonans want to be legally allowed to buy, use, and grow cannabis under state law, just like most of its neighboring states.

The poll, by HighGround Public Affairs Consultants, was conducted among 400 likely voters between May 18 and May 22. The numbers reflect how far Americans, in general, have come in their thinking about marijuana prohibition over the past few years. And it reveals something of a sea change in Arizona conservatives’ view on cannabis.

The legalization measure proposed for 2020, Smart and Safe Act Arizona, is supported by 65 percent of voters, plus or minus the poll’s margin of error of 4.9 percent. That’s substantially higher than 2016’s failed effort, Prop 205, ever polled.

Democrats and Independents, naturally, support the initiative in overwhelming numbers.

Yet even older folks and Republicans are in favor of this year’s cannabis legalization initiative, according to the poll.

Fifty-six percent of Republicans definitely or probably will be voting for it; 63 percent of voters aged 50 to 64 were in the category of definitely or probably, as were 55 percent of voters 65 and older. [Read more at Phoenix New Times]