Poll: Nationwide marijuana legalization inevitable

DENVER (AP) — Nationwide marijuana legalization seems inevitable to three-fourths of Americans, whether they support it or not, according to a new poll out today.

The Pew Research Center survey on the nation's shifting attitudes about drug policy also showed increased support for moving away from mandatory sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.

The telephone survey found that 75 percent of respondents — including majorities of both supporters and opponents of legal marijuana— think the sale and use of pot eventually will be legal nationwide. It was the first time that question had been asked.

Some 39 percent of respondents said pot should be legal for personal adult use. Forty-four percent of those surveyed said it should be legal only for medicinal use. Just 16 percent said it should not be legal at all.

The responses come as two states have legalized recreational marijuana, with more than 20 states and Washington, D.C., allowing some medical use of the drug.

"It's just a matter of time before it's in more states," said Steve Pratley of Denver, a 51-year-old pipefitter who voted for legalization in Colorado in 2012.

Pratley, who did not participate in the Pew survey, agreed with 76 percent of respondents who said people who use small amounts of marijuana shouldn't go to jail.

"If marijuana isn't legalized, it fills up the jails, and that's just stupid," Pratley said.