Politics | marijuana Poll: If State Legalizes Pot, Feds Should Be Cool With It But Americans still split on legalization itself By Evann Gastaldo Posted Dec 6, 2012 12:47 PM CST Copied Gary Parrish smokes marijuana in a glass pipe, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012, just after midnight at the Space Needle in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) It's now legal to smoke pot while watching a Lord of the Rings marathon in Washington state, but questions persist over how the pot-prohibiting federal government should react. A new USA Today/Gallup poll clarifies how Americans feel about two of the biggies: Respondents remain split on the issue of legalization itself, with 50% of respondents against it and 48% for it. But once a state does legalize it, the feds should stay out of it, according to 64% of respondents. Just 34% said the federal government should still take steps to enforce its laws. Read These Next Details trickle out on 2 more victims of the Minneapolis shooting. Isolated tribe members show up in an unexpected place. The Air Force has changed its tune on Ashli Babbitt. One key to Telsa's huge court loss: a hacker in Starbucks. Report an error