On Wednesday, KING5 released results of a KING5/Survey USA poll of 500 Washington adults conducted on January 13, 2009. The poll asked respondents: “State lawmakers are considering making marijuana possession legal. Do you think legalizing marijuana is a good idea? Or a bad idea?”

Fifty-six percent of respondents said legalizing marijuana was a good idea while 36 percent said it was a bad idea and another 8 percent of respondents said they weren’t sure. Sixty-four percent of men thought it was a good idea, but only 48 percent of women thought legalization of marijuana was a good idea. Support was broad and deep across all age groups from 18 to 64 years of age. Only among respondents 65 or older did support drop to 32 percent with 64 percent of the 65+ respondents saying marijuana legalization a bad idea.

The poll had a margin of error of 4.4 percent.