US Marijuana Legislation Update: Who's For It, Who's Against It? California Lt. Governor Wants it on 2016 Ballot; Pat Robertson Drops Support, Oregon Lottery Official Dissents

As election season rolls around, and the several states take on the vote to legalize or decriminalize marijuana use, it's becoming more clear who will stand with weed legalization and who will not. Although California allows marijuana use for medical reason, it was announced that the state's Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom will make a push for a legalization measure to be on the ballot in 2016.

In addition to Newsom's move, there's also one high profile weed legalization supporter who has backed off. Religious broadcasting icon Pat Roberts had said marijuana should be treated like alcohol and become a legal substance. The host of the "700 Club" brought attention to the pro-marijuana cause, but will become a major loss to that movement.

However, Roberts supports decriminalizing the drug, because of so many people put in jail due to marijuana, but he doesn't support legalization like he once did.

A recent segment on this program highlighted the negatives of marijuana, the Christian Post reported.

"Now everybody ... the little kids are getting high. They've got marijuana cupcakes, marijuana soft drinks, marijuana gummy bears," Robertson said on his program. "Do you want your little eighth grader to be stoned when he goes to school? Well, welcome to Colorado, where pot is legal."

Colorado has exemplified that legalizing weed can be good for state revenue, even adding money to public schools. Oregon and Alaska are currently looking at differing ways of going the fully legalized route in terms of marijuana.

California legislators did not pass a bill on Thursday that sought to regulate the medical marijuana industry. But Newsom, who has previously voiced support for the pro-weed lobby will back a ballot measure called "The Right Initiative" which would make weed fully legal, with protections for children, as with other substances, in the Golden State. California was the first state to regulate medical marijuana almost 20 years ago.

Oregon, which will be voting on whether or not to legalize marijuana in the next election, has gotten a mix of support for cannabis. Recently the state's lottery officials knocked down the idea of legalizing pot. A Portland city club report backed the idea of legal weed, according to reports.

"The legalization of recreational marijuana will pose many challenges in the beginning," the marijuana report says, adding that  "over time will be better than the status quo, increasing revenue for state and local government and reducing criminal activity."