What Eagle Rockers Think of Marijuana Legalization

The latest national survey conducted by the Pew Research Center on the thorny subject of marijuana reveals that more Americans than ever before now support legalizing the drug that former President Bill Clinton famously said he had smoked but never inhaled, prompting President Obama to reportedly joke (before he became president) that the whole point of smoking pot was to inhale it.

The Pew findings, released Thursday, show that 52 percent of Americans support the outright legalization of marijuana, while 45 percent do not. That's an 11-percent jump since 2010 and the most "dramatic change" since 1969, when opposition to legalization stood at 84 percent, according to the center.

The survey, conducted March 13-17 among 1,501 adults, finds that young people are the most supportive of marijuana legalization. The older generations, too, show a striking change in attitude toward marijuana, according to the survey. In 1994, just 24 percent of Baby Boomers favored legalization. Now, 50 percent do.

Within hours of the news about the survey, Eagle Rock Patch asked locals whether (or not) they support legalizing marijuana—and why. Here’s what some residents and stakeholders said:

Sarah Wozniak, Eagle Rock resident:

I think marijuana should be treated like alcohol—regulated, with age limitations and taxation for the government to get out of its debt.

Florence Roth, Occidental College graduate of 2011:

It should be legalized, but it’s silly to think that people should be smoking pot on the street corners. After all, they can’t drink in public.

Ricky Washington, Eagle Rock resident:

I think it should be a private thing. It should have the same rules and regulations as alcohol—no driving under the influence. With the revenue it will generate, it might actually help our economy.

Michael Larsen, Immediate Past President, Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council:

I don't have a real problem with legalization as long as it's on a federal level with strict and thoughtful state and local controls built in. The biggest problem we've seen with medical marijuana in California is the complete lack of any coherent regulation and enforcement, which is a result of a spineless legislature in Sacramento. At a minimum, I would want to be assured that any legalization scenario would carry the same kinds of controls that are on liquor and tobacco. I have the feeling, however, that the business of Big Marijuana would be successful in limiting or removing regulation, just as they have in Los Angeles with medical marijuana.

Mark Haskell Smith, Eagle Rock resident and author of Heart of Dankness: Underground Botanists, Outlaw Farmers, and the Race For the Cannabis Cup:

I think it’s just a generational shift, given the hundreds of millions of people who’ve tried it or use it occasionally and know that it is not the dangerous narcotic the DEA would like you to believe it is. My hope would be that the federal government would quit wasting money on the drug war, stop putting people in jail for growing a plant, and let the state go about setting up a plan to tax and regulate the production, sale, and consumption of cannabis. If California can put together a smart program—and we can learn from Washington and Colorado—then legalization could generate all kinds of budget balancing revenue: New taxes from sales and huge savings in prison spending and unnecessary police hours and keep profits out of the hands of illegal cartels and organized crime.

Manager, Eagle Rock Market & Liquor, Eagle Rock Boulevard:

No! I don't like it. I don't smoke it.

John Beltran, Eagle Rock resident:

It's different from alcohol. It makes people crazy. If it's legalized, there will be lots of trouble in the country.

Chuck Neimeyar, Eagle Rock stakeholder:

I support it for medical reasons, but I don't think it should be legalized. Tobacco is what should be declared illegal.

Jason Hawkins, Eagle Rock stakeholder:

I would support legalization as long there is local regulation. The pot czar in Washington state is doing pretty well.

Anthony Sanchez, Eagle Rock stakeholder:

I tend to support it more than oppose it. But I also tend to see it as a dirty drug. I know it does cause some problems—it's not a harmless drug. But I don't know enough about the effects of marijuana to compare it to alcohol.

Isasas Suares, Eagle Rock resident:

It should be legalized—because it's illegal right now and encourages criminal behavior. That's the only reason I support it.

Jonathan Jara, Eagle Rock resident:

I do and I don't [support legalization]. I'd support it if they tax the hell out of it. It's a 50-50 for me. The way it's going right now, it's a problem—there's no regulation. I drive around and see green marijuana signs everywhere.