LAS VEGAS _ Christina Rourke grinned and folded the flier handed to her promoting a Nevada ballot question allowing legal marijuana sales.
"Already voted for it," Rourke, who works in real estate, said as she stood in a line at a school where President Barack Obama was to campaign for Hillary Clinton. "Really, it was a big reason for me to even get out and vote. ... Pot was big for me. Then came Hillary."
Public approval of legal marijuana is accelerating, similar to the country's quick change in favor of same-sex marriage. Efforts to legalize marijuana for recreational use are on the ballot in five states this month, including two battlegrounds _ Nevada and Arizona _ that Clinton is targeting in the final days of the presidential campaign. And though its proponents are attracting some of the same constituencies she is, Clinton is keeping the issue at a distance from her campaign, frustrating backers of legal marijuana who want her endorsement and running the risk of leaving votes behind.
"Pot is Clinton's ally, whether her campaign wants to admit it or not _ it just is," said Joe Brezny, a spokesman for the proponents of Question 2, the legalization proposal.. "We have the coalition she needs and they're showing up to the polls to vote for marijuana reform."
In early voting in Nevada, Democrats are far outpacing Republicans in turnout. Another ballot question, which would require background checks on gun sales, has also energized younger voters and progressives.
While Clinton, trailing Donald Trump by about 2 percentage points in an average of polls in Nevada, stands to benefit from the enthusiasm forged by legalized marijuana here _ surveys have consistently shown Democrats are more likely to back legalization _ she has not endorsed it. Trump has said the issue should be left up to the states.
During a Democratic debate in Las Vegas last year, Clinton sidestepped a question about legalizing marijuana in Nevada, saying more research must be done from studying implementation in states where it is legal, such as Colorado and Oregon.
Clinton has instead sent her primary challenger, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who supports the measure and now backs her, to campaign in Nevada.. He has talked about marijuana during his appearances, and his political organization, Our Revolution, has sent emails urging supporters to vote for the proposal.
But for some young voters, it's not enough to have Sanders talk about marijuana reform. They want Clinton, who has said she never smoked marijuana and whose husband famously claimed he "didn't inhale," to take a position.
"I'll already be there voting yes for pot legalization, but I'm not completely sold on Clinton," said Spenser Sullivan, 22, an international-business major and volunteer for the proponents of Question 2
Deuvall Dorsey, a graduate student at UNLV and the student coordinator for the pro-marijuana effort, said that if Clinton wants his vote, she needs to take a stand.
"It's sad because marijuana reform is so widely supported," Dorsey, noting the millions in tax revenue that could come from legal sales in Nevada, said. "It's what the people want."
Clinton's campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Dorsey said he's considering voting for Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson, who has said he smokes marijuana.
"But man, he's not going to win. I'm not really down for a symbolic vote," Dorsey said. "For me though, it's all about getting pot passed."
Clinton's views in closed-door meetings appear to show she's more definitively opposed to legal marijuana than the wait-and-see approach she advocated at the Las Vegas debate. In transcripts of speeches she gave to Fortune 500 companies, obtained and posted by WikiLeaks, Clinton voiced disapproval for legal marijuana during a question-and-answer session with Xerox CEO Ursula Burns in March 2014.
Still, some marijuana proponents see Clinton's public comments as a positive.
"Her rhetoric is non-intervening in what states are doing and that's all we need to keep the ball moving down the field and in the correct direction," said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project.
Polls show Question 2 with an advantage among Nevadans, but opponents, bankrolled by $2 million last month from casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, are making a late push.
Proponents have been on the air with television ads for months, spending about $800,000. Similar to measures on the ballot in other states, including California, they tout tax revenue from legal marijuana sales that would go toward, among other things, public education.
They are also blanketing college campuses, concert halls and happy hours, urging young people to vote in support of reform.
