SAN FRANCISCO – Americans in nine states have a chance to vote Nov. 8 on expanding legal access to marijuana.
Collectively, the ballot measures amount to the closest the U.S. has come to a national referendum on the drug.
Five states – Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada – will consider legalizing the recreational use of pot. Three others – Florida, Arkansas and North Dakota – will decide whether to permit marijuana for medical purposes. Montana will weigh whether to ease restrictions on an existing medical marijuana law.
According to national polls, a solid majority of Americans support legalization. Gallup’s latest survey gauged support at 58 percent, up from 12 percent from when the question was first posed in 1969. Gallup says 13 percent of U.S. adults report using marijuana at present, nearly double the percentage who reported using pot in 2013.
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