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Effort to Legalize Marijuana Still Losing in Poll; Study Finds Alcohol Worse Than Other Substances

Photo by anna★b via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr
As mentioned in Sunday's edition of Extra, Extra, the latest Field Poll has the Proposition to legalize marijuana on the losing end of the spectrum. According to the pre-election poll (.pdf), which last week found Democrats leading Republicans in the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races, "opponents now outnumber supporters 49% to 42%, a reversal from mid-September, when it was leading 49% to 42%." 1,092 likely voters were surveyed and there is a +/- 3.2% margin of error.
The 18 to 39 age group remains the most supportive with 54% in favor, 38% opposed. Southern California as a whole is opposed (50% against, 41% for), including L.A. County on its own (51% opposed, 38% yes).
The poll came out at the same time a study in England ranked the harmfulness of drugs, concluding that alcohol is actually worse others, including ecstasy, LSD and marijuana.
"Researchers analyzed how addictive a drug is and how it harms the human body," according to the Associated Press, "in addition to other criteria like environmental damage caused by the drug, its role in breaking up families and its economic costs, such as health care, social services, and prison."
The study, however, does keep in mind that alcohol is widely used (and available), thus had more chances at earning a high rank on the list of substances.
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