Coloradans approve of marijuana, but not so much when it comes to elected officials using the mind altering drug.

State residents say “marijuana has been good for Colorado” by a margin of 52 to 38 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday morning.

But 52 percent of voters are “less likely to vote for a candidate for office who smokes marijuana two or three days a week,” the poll found. “Only 3 percent are more likely to vote for a marijuana-smoking candidate, while 43 percent say it would not affect their vote.”

POLL RESULTS: Colorado voters feel good about legal marijuana

Two groups, however, aren’t convinced that legal marijuana is positive.

Sixty-three percent of Republicans and seniors — 65 and over — polled said marijuana is bad for Colorado.

Voters overall have a positive view, including these findings:

• Legalized marijuana “increases personal freedoms in a positive way,” voters say 53 – 44 percent.

• Legalized marijuana has not “eroded the moral fiber” of people in Colorado, voters say 67 – 30 percent.

Those polled also found:

• Driving has not become more dangerous because of legalized marijuana, voters say 54 – 39 percent.

• Legalized marijuana will have a positive impact on the state’s criminal justice system, voters say 50 – 40 percent.

“Colorado voters are generally good to go on grass, across the spectrum, from personal freedom to its taxpayer benefits to its positive impact on the criminal justice system,” said TimMalloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll.

The poll also tapped into Coloradans attitudes on same-sex marriage.

Locals approve of same-sex marriage by about a two-to-one margin — 61 to 33 percent.

Quinnipiac University, a private school in Hamden, Conn., surveyed 1,298 Colorado registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points.

The university says it conducts public opinion surveys throughout the country as a “public service and for research.”

Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822, knicholson@denverpost.com or twitter.com/kierannicholson