Medical Marijuana polls

[palmspringsbum]

Most Canadians OK with medicinal marijuana

<span class=postbigbold>poll: Findings also show almost half back legalization</span>

Misty Harris
The Ottawa Citizen


Thursday, November 02, 2006


Although Canadians are hardly trading maple leaves for marijuana leaves, newly published findings suggest Cheech and Chong would feel right at home here.

In a nationwide survey, 93 per cent of Canadians indicated they accept the idea of people legally smoking marijuana for health reasons.

Support for the overall legalization of marijuana is also strong, with almost half of Canadians giving it a hearty thumbs up -- the same percentage of people who, in a 2004 Health Canada sponsored survey were found to have smoked cannabis in their lifetime.

Results of the study of 2,400 adults are published in the new book The Boomer Factor: What Canada's Most Famous Generation is Leaving Behind, authored by University of Lethbridge sociologist Reginald Bibby.

The findings are particularly striking in light of last week's Supreme Court ruling in favour of marijuana activist Grant Krieger. He was awarded a new trial after jurors were directed by the judge to find the accused guilty of possessing the drug for the purposes of trafficking, denying Mr. Krieger the right to a trial by jury.

Mr. Krieger, who uses marijuana to cope with multiple sclerosis, has said he shares his supply of the drug, but only with people in medical need.

"Any jury that is representative of Canadians can be expected to accept the general principle that an individual should be able to use marijuana for medicinal purposes," says Mr. Bibby.

"We simply do not have significant variations by almost any variable, starting with age, gender, and even religious service attendance."

In 1975, 26 per cent of Canadians supported the legalization of marijuana; 40 per cent of those aged 18 to 34, 19 per cent of those aged 35 to 54 and 14 per cent of those age 55 or older.

In 2005, 45 per cent supported such a change; 48 per cent of those aged 18 to 34, 48 per cent of those aged 35 to 54, and 38 per cent of those age 55 or older. And Mr. Bibby reports Canadians today are more accepting of marijuana than those figures imply.

"Large numbers of Canadians -- rightly or wrongly -- do not believe its legalization would be detrimental to individuals or society, based in part on their personal experiences with pot," he says.

"If people think it can further help people medically, then relatively few ... feel there is any reason to ban it, anymore than we ban a drug such as morphine."

National figures are considered accurate within three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

© The Ottawa Citizen 2006

<span class=postbold>See Also:</span> No toke about it, Canucks accept pot use for medicinal purposes, expert says

[palmspringsbum]

No toke about it, Canucks accept pot use for medicinal purposes, expert says

Misty Harris
CanWest News Service


Thursday, November 02, 2006


Although Canadians are hardly trading maple leaves for pot leaves, newly published findings suggest Cheech and Chong would feel right at home here.

In a nationwide survey, an overwhelming 93 per cent of Canadians indicated they accept the idea of people legally smoking marijuana for health reasons. Nearly three in four (70 per cent) not only accept the practice but also personally approve of the behaviour.

Support for the overall legalization of marijuana is also strong, with almost half of Canucks giving it a hearty thumbs up the same percentage of people who, in a 2004 Health Canada sponsored survey were found to have smoked cannabis in their lifetime.

Results of the study of 2,400 adults are published in the new book The Boomer Factor: What Canada's Most Famous Generation is Leaving Behind, authored by Alberta's University of Lethbridge sociologist Reginald Bibby.

The findings are particularly striking in light of last week's Supreme Court ruling in favour of marijuana activist Grant Krieger. He was awarded a new trial after jurors were directed by the judge to find the accused guilty of possessing the drug for the purposes of trafficking, denying Krieger the right to a trial by jury.

Krieger, who uses marijuana to cope with multiple sclerosis, has said he shares his supply of the drug, but only with people in medical need.

''Any jury that is representative of Canadians can be expected to accept the general principle that an individual should be able to use marijuana for medicinal purposes,'' says Bibby.

''We simply do not have significant variations by almost any variable, starting with age, gender, and even religious service attendance.''

In 1975, 26 per cent of Canadians supported the legalization of marijuana; 40 per cent of those aged 18 to 34, 19 per cent of those aged 35 to 54 and 14 per cent of those age 55 or older.

In 2005, 45 per cent supported such a change; 48 per cent of those aged 18 to 34, 48 per cent of those aged 35 to 54, and 38 per cent of those age 55 or older. And Bibby reports Canucks today are more accepting of pot than those figures imply.

''Large numbers of Canadians rightly or wrongly do not believe its legalization would be detrimental to individuals or society, based in part on their personal experiences with pot,'' he says.

''If people think it can further help people medically, then relatively few feel there is any reason to ban it, anymore than we ban a drug such as morphine.''

Regionally, support for the medical use of marijuana is fairly uniform. Quebec is most approving at 96 per cent, followed by British Columbia at 94 per cent, Ontario at 93 per cent, the Prairies at 92 per cent, and Atlantic Canada at 90 per cent.

Support for the general legalization of marijuana is strongest in British Columbia, at 57 per cent. Quebec ranks second with 47 per cent support, followed by Ontario at 44 per cent, the Prairies at 38 per cent, and Atlantic Canada at 37 per cent.

National figures are considered accurate within three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

mharris@canwest.com

[palmspringsbum]

Most folks agree—pot can be good for you

Written by : The Bridge Troll
Last modified 2006-11-06 23:36
The Bridge

Public opinion backs medical marijuana, says a report released October 24 by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). Ten years have passed since California voters passed the “Compassionate Use” ballot initiative, and not one of the dire consequences predicted by its opponents has come to pass.

There are now ten more medical marijuana states. And according to Proposition 215, Ten Years Later: Medical Marijuana Goes Mainstream, government surveys show that adolescent marijuana use has not gone up in any state from which before-and-after data are available.

In 1996, President Clinton’s “drug czar” Barry McCaffrey argued, “There is not a shred of scientific evidence that shows that smoked marijuana is useful or needed… increased drug abuse in every category will be the inevitable result” of California’s medical marijuana law.

Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein claimed Prop. 215 was “riddled with loopholes so big that it would have the effect of legalizing marijuana.”

But when the Government Accounting Office looked at Alaska, California, Hawaii, and Oregon in 2002, most of the 37 law enforcement agencies they interviewed reported that “medical marijuana laws had not greatly affected their law enforcement activities.”

Local cops don’t have to enforce Feds' lawThe MPP report discusses the implications of conflict between Federal and State drugs laws. “While the Federal government can enforce Federal laws anywhere in the United States, the Federal government cannot force states to have laws that are identical to Federal law and cannot force State and local police to enforce Federal laws.” The Supreme Court’s 2005 decision in Gonzales v. Raich affirmed that Federal laws could trump State drug laws, but did not address enforcement.

The role of local police in Federal law enforcement has been at issue on many fronts recently, usually in connection with the “Terror War.” For example, a recent report on immigration reform states,

“State and local police have long sought to separate their activities from those of federal immigration agents in order to enhance public safety. Why is that?

"Because when immigrant community residents begin to see state and local police as deportation agents, they stop reporting crimes and assisting in investigations. The fear of deportation often silences them from reporting abuses, making it more difficult for police to effectively do their jobs.” State and Local Police Enforcement of Federal Immigration Laws, NCLR, March 2006

No state ballot initiative to permit medical use of marijuana has ever been defeated, winning by solid margins in both “red” and “blue” states. Polls conducted for the MPP report showed strong public support for the laws in all eleven medical marijuana states. Of the eight states which passed their laws by voter initiative, support has remained steady in Montana and risen markedly in the others.

In New England, the poll shows that 67 percent in Maine, 71 percent in Vermont, and 85 percent in Rhode Island support their state medical marijuana laws.

<span class=postbigbold>Shreds of proof</span>

Although Massachusetts has no medical marijuana law, physicians have reccommended its use for years, notably for relief of nausea in chemotherapy and to combat glaucoma.

The MPP report takes on the Government’s position that marijuana has no proven medical value. “After 5,000 years of recorded medical use, marijuana disappeared from U.S. pharmacies after Federal prohibition in 1937.…

“A 1999 White House-commissioned review by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported evidence of efficacy against nausea, appetite loss, pain, and anxiety. Newer research has found that medical marijuana improves hepatitis C treatment outcomes by relieving the harsh side effects of antiviral medications, allowing patients to complete treatment successfully. Other studies have documented marijuana’s ability to ease difficult-to-treat pain caused by multiple sclerosis, HIV-related neuropathy, and other conditions.

“Particularly intriguing research has shown that marijuana’s active components protect nerve cells from many types of damage and can actually inhibit tumor growth without damaging healthy cells. Vaporizer research has answered the IOM’s biggest concern, the hazards of smoking, by demonstrating that vaporization allows use of whole marijuana with the same rapid action as with smoking, but without the irritants in smoke."

The entire report is available from
Marijuana Policy Project Foundation P.O. Box 77492 Washington, DC 20013 (202)462-5747 info@mpp.org www.mpp.or