Washington State’s Initiative 502, which would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana, is currently leading in the polls. According to polling by PPP 47 percent of Washington voters say they plan to vote for it compared to just 39 percent who say they plan to vote against it. But success will depend on which groups turn out to vote.

An overwhelming 63 percent of voters in the state of Vermont support reducing the penalty for simple marijuana possession to a small fine, according to new polling of registered voters by PPP for the Marijuana Policy Project.

As a country we are quickly approaching a critical cultural and political tipping point on this issue.

A new poll found that 62 percent of likely California voters would support a ballot initiative to regulate marijuana like wine. This is the highest level of support I’ve seen in any poll of California about the issue of marijuana legalization.

A solid majority — 58 percent– of Massachusetts voters support marijuana legalization according to the first professional poll sponsored by MassCann/NORML. The poll also demonstrates the importance of framing. If legal marijuana is going to be taxed and regulated in a manner similar to alcohol, people become more supportive of the idea.

The poll is especially important because soon voters of Colorado will likely officially decide on the legal status of marijuana because the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol has recently turned in enough signatures to get their initiative qualified for the ballot.

A majority — 55 percent — of registered voters in New Jersey agree that all the penalties related to possessing a small amount of marijuana should be eliminated, according to a new Rutgers-Eagleton Poll. Republicans and conservatives disagree, and a majority still oppose complete legalization of use and sales.

It is a depressing statement on the state of our current democracy that any easily implemented policy change like moving cannabis from schedule I to schedule III so it can be legally prescribed by a doctor still hasn’t happened despite poll after poll showing the American public overwhelmingly supports the change.

Although majority support for marijuana legalization is a good sign for this Colorado campaign, it should be noted that in 2010 the California marijuana legalization measure, Proposition 19, was ahead in early polling but ended up losing narrowly on election day. This Colorado effort should be in slightly better shape than Prop 19 was because they are trying to put the issue on the ballot in a Presidential Election year. Presidential elections tend to see much higher turn out among young voters who strongly support legalization.

A new poll from Rasmussen finds the American people nearly evenly divided on whether or not to legalize and tax marijuana to help the government bring in new revenue.