DENVER - After more than 40 years of surveys, support for the legalization of marijuana has reached the magic number: 50 percent.
For the first time since Gallup started asking Americans their thoughts on legalization, more are saying yes instead of no.
In Colorado, voters will decide next year on whether to allow the use of small amounts of marijuana.
Five years ago, the state voted 59 to 41 to turn down a similar measure. Next year, the measure will come back.
To talk about the issue, 9NEWS held a debate at the University of Denver on Tuesday. On one side was Rob Corry, an attorney for the legalization of marijuana movement since 1994. On the other side was University of Denver Professor Sam Kamin, a criminal law expert.
"Prohibition has never worked in America," Corry said.
"Whether there's something magical about the 50 percent, I don't know," Kamin said. "What's interesting is that there is no state that has so far legalized [marijuana]. We have medical marijuana. We had legalization on the ballot in California - it hasn't passed there."
"Nobody has legalized it for all purposes, but Colorado looks pretty legalized to me," Corry said. "Last night on TV, there was a TV ad for for-profit sales of marijuana."
"Yeah, if you're not in Colorado you wouldn't actually believe the things we see here," Kamin said.
Corry thinks the debate is already over.
"Legalization in Colorado will happen, I'm predicting in November 2012," he said. "I think that we get there. Colorado will be the first in the nation to legalize marijuana for all purposes."
"And what happens the next morning?" Kamin asked.
"Western civilization will continue," Corry said.
"The feds will prosecute someone in court," Kamin said.
"They may, they may not," Corry said.
"It's the morning after it passes that's interesting to me. Whether the feds push and make it a test case of it here, or if they say, 'OK,'" Kamin said.
(KUSA-TV © 2011 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)