* Anybody see any problems with this question in a poll sponsored by an anti-legalization group?…

QUESTION: Currently, possessing 10 grams of marijuana – enough for about 30 joints - is not a crime in Illinois. Instead, it is a civil violation like a traffic ticket. Many people call this policy “decriminalization.” Medical marijuana use is also legal in Illinois. Knowing that personal marijuana possession is already decriminalized in Illinois, which one of the following marijuana policies do you prefer:

- Keep the current policy of decriminalization and medical marijuana

-Keep the current policy of decriminalization and medical marijuana but also allow for past misdemeanor marijuana convictions to be expunged

-Change the current policy of decriminalization by legalizing commercial production, use and sale of marijuana for recreational use

-Make all marijuana use illegal

Allow me to try.

1) Thirty “joints” in ten grams (about three-eighths of an ounce)? I haven’t rolled one of those in a very long time, but that seems like a lot. I checked the Google and California retail establishments sell pre-rolled joints of 1 gram each. So 10 grams would produce 10 California pre-rolls. I did see some articles about how joints are as small as .33 grams, but I think those would be what are commonly known as “pinners.”

2) That’s a pretty darned detailed setup question, but it doesn’t mention that decriminalization leaves the current criminal growing and distribution network in place. Maybe I’m just asking too much on this one, though.

3) Decrim and medical are explained in the setup, but not legalization. This is truly a classic push question.

4) As far as I know, nobody has introduced a stand-alone exoneration bill, so I’m not sure why that was even tossed in there.

5) Exonerations are included in the legalization bill, but that isn’t mentioned for some mysterious reasons only known by the pollster and its anti-legalization sponsor. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ And no mention of tax and fee income and new jobs from legalization even though everybody knows the state needs more revenue and employment?

Yeah. Totally reliable. The pollster is good, the question is most definitely not.

Also, they didn’t release their other questions, so we don’t know what came before that one. Some polls intended for media consumption ask highly leading questions before dropping the big one on respondents.

Also too, collar county respondents were more in favor of legalization than Cook County respondents? I have difficulty believing that.

And support has suddenly plunged?…

Just under half (47%) of those under 50 favored legalization, while a little over a third (36%) of those over 50 supported it. Both Democrats and independents were more likely to favor legalization than Republicans. The favorability was almost evenly split between white and African-American respondents, with 41% of white voters saying they support it, and 44% of black voters saying they support it. But there were more white respondents polled than African American — 74% to 16%.

The favorability rating is down from a poll of 1,000 registered voters conducted in March by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. In that poll, the highest level of support for legalizing marijuana came from Chicago, where 75% favored it, and 24% were opposed. Statewide, 66% of respondents favored or strongly favored legalization, while 32% opposed it, the Simon institute poll found.

Different pollster, much different questions, hugely different reasons for the two polls, so you cannot compare the two.