Prop. 19 Backers Regroup for 2012

We haven’t heard the last of Proposition 19. Its backers are taking heart from its unsuccessful run at the polls last week—where more people voted in favor of it than for Meg Whitman or Carly Fiorina.They are vowing that they will be back in 2012, with a more focused campaign and more money. Though the measure was defeated, 54 percent to 46 percent, a post-election survey found that Californians actually favor legalization, 49 percent to 41 percent, with 10 percent undecided. Plus, supporters say, the debate is now firmly mainstream and a presidential election year always brings out more young voters, a key demographic in the fight to legalize marijuana. "The question about legalizing marijuana is no longer when, it's no longer whether, it's how," said the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a national advocacy group. "There's a really strong body of people who will be ready to pull the lever in the future."