Three out of every four California voters support reducing the criminal penalty for possession of a small amount of illegal drugs for personal use, according to a new poll from Lake Research Partners (PDF). Currently, possession of most illegal drugs, besides marijuana, for personal use is technically a felony in the state.

The poll found a plurality, 40 percent, of likely voters thought that the offense should be merely an infraction that carries only the punishment of a fine, while 35 percent of likely voters thought the crime should be only a misdemeanor instead of a felony. According to the poll, only 12 percent of the voters in the state actually think possession for personal use should be a felony.

In addition, Lake found a solid majority of voters in California believe that state currently has too many people in prison. From the poll (PDF).

Generally speaking, do you believe the state of California imprisons too many people, too few people,
or about the right amount of people?
56  Too many
13  Too few
18  About the right amount
13  (Unsure, don’t know – vol)

With the state facing very serious deficit problems, ideally, this polling data will cause the state government to look at smart drug policy and prison reforms as a way to reduce spending. The state already spends significantly more on incarceration than it does on higher education.