A poll conducted last month reveals that more than half of all Arizonans support the legalization of recreational marijuana. As Arizona Public Radio’s Ryan Heinsius reports, the study comes as multiple measures are in the works to put the question to voters in 2016.
The poll conducted by the Phoenix-based Behavior Research Center found 53 percent of Arizonans favor legal possession of small amounts of recreational marijuana for personal use. That number is even higher in rural areas.
Advocacy groups are currently gathering signatures for two citizen initiatives and one constitutional amendment to legalize recreational pot in the state.
To appear on the 2016 ballot, the initiatives will have to gather more than 150,000 signatures by next July.
Four states and the District of Columbia have already passed such measures, and several others are considering similar ones in 2016.
