It's almost been two years since Colorado passed legislation legalizing the sale of marijuana to adults who are 21 and older, and many states are on similar paths to pass marijuana legislation in the upcoming election - there are more drug reform questions on this November's ballot than ever before. But a few recent reports coming out of Colorado indicate that support for the legalization efforts may be decreasing among Colorado citizens.
A Sept. 17 poll conducted by Suffolk University and USA Today shows 50.2 percent of Colorado voters are not satisfied with the state's decision to legalize marijuana, while 46 percent continue to support the decision.
The poll also found that nearly 49 percent of voters disapprove of how the state is managing aspects of legalized pot, with 42 percent approving. Suffolk University reported a sample size of 500 "likely general-election voters," and a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percent at an 85 percent level of confidence.
"Although it's a close split overall, opposition comes mainly from women statewide who oppose it fifty-six percent to forty-one percent and additional pushback from voters over fifty-five years of age," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston. "This is offset by younger voters between eighteen and forty-five who still support it by a twenty-point margin."
Another report released Sept. 23 by the Public Religion Research Institute examined the national attitude toward marijuana legalization, and found that national support has decreased by seven percentage points in the past year, from 51 percent in 2013 to 44 percent in September 2014. Forty-three percent supported legalization in 2012, according to the PRRI poll.
Of the 4,500 Americans who were asked how they feel about making the use of marijuana legal, 50 percent said they either oppose or strongly oppose, compared with 44 percent opposing in 2013, and 53 percent opposing in 2012. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 1.8 percentage points at a 95 percent level of confidence.
"These numbers suggest that people who only slightly supported legalization last year have changed their minds, and that people who slightly opposed legalization now feel more strongly about it," reported the Washington Post. "They could augur difficulties for marijuana legalization measures on the ballot this year in Alaska and Oregon. An August PPP poll found Alaska voters closely divided on the marijuana question, with 44 percent in favor of legalization and 49 percent opposed. A June SurveyUSA poll found more robust support for legalization in Oregon, at 51 to 41."
The November 2012 vote to legalize marijuana in the state saw 55.32 percent voting in favor of legalization, with 44.68 voting in opposition.
One possible contributing factor to the disapproval found in the Suffolk University/USA Today poll could be a new report from KPRC Houston news, which claims that Colorado is seeing a significant rise in the number of homeless people traveling from Texas to Colorado for the legal marijuana.
Murray Flagg, who helps run a Salvation Army shelter, told KPRC Houston that they "find about one in four people have come for some marijuana related issue."
"We were averaging 190 people a night," said Flagg. "Now we are averaging 345 people a night."
Two additional controversial pieces came out over the summer from the University of Colorado.
The first: a study out of the University of Colorado reporting that more drivers involved in fatal car accidents in Colorado are found to have marijuana in their system. It also found that Colorado has a higher percentage of drivers testing positive for marijuana than other states.
It's important to note that such findings do not show that the drivers were under the influence of marijuana when the accident occurred -- simply that it was in their system. Marijuana can stay in the system for over 30 days but it's perceivable cognitive effects usually disappear after a few days of abstinence.
"The primary result of this study may simply reflect a general increase in marijuana use during this time period in Colorado," noted the study's author.
However, one study published last year by the Journal of Law & Economics found that states with medical marijuana laws saw a decline in traffic fatalities, possibly due to people using marijuana instead of alcohol.
Second was another study out of the University of Colorado titled "Temporal trends in marijuana attitudes, availability and use in Colorado compared to non-medical marijuana states," which found that the commercialization of marijuana in Colorado has been associated with lower risk perception among all age groups.
The study also found that marijuana use in adults increased significantly in 2009, but as the study's authors note, they can't show that the shift in attitudes and use is due to Colorado's new marijuana laws.
"Even though causality cannot be established, Colorado would be wise to implement prevention efforts regarding marijuana and make treatment for those with marijuana use disorders more broadly available," the study concluded.
What's interesting about these studies, both of which received federal funding, is that they didn't examine data from Colorado since marijuana has been legalized in the state.
As the Denver Post reported, the studies began their research "several years prior to the 2009 boom in medical marijuana dispensaries," adding that "both conclude their analysis in 2011 -- the latest year for which data is available, but prior to the 2012 legalization of recreational pot."
