Prop 19 on Legal Pot Is in Trouble

Proposition 19 may have captured a lot of media attention, but the ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in California is suddenly in jeopardy. It's trailing 51% to 39% in a new Los Angeles Times poll after leading much of the way until now. The problem, apparently, is that supporters haven't raised the kind of money necessary for a sustained ad campaign on television.

Generally speaking, Democrats and independents favor the measure, and Republicans oppose it. While Latinos initially seemed to support it, they now oppose it 2 to 1. Men are evenly split, while more women don't like it, and both sides see one group in particular as a key swing vote: mothers. The poll is the second this week to show waning support—a Public Policy Institute of California survey found 44% for it and 49% opposed.
(More Proposition 19 stories.)