Majority in Colorado Poll Want Marijuana Legalizedby Phillip Smith, August 13, 2011, 05:02pm, (Issue #697)
A new Public Policy Polling survey shows support for marijuana legalization in Colorado at 51%, with 38% opposed. The poll comes as activists there are prepare to put at least one marijuana legalization initiative on the November 2012 ballot.
The poll did not ask whether Coloradans should "regulate marijuana like alcohol," which is the language used in the best positioned initiative, the one led by SAFER and Sensible Colorado. Instead, the poll simply asked, "Do you think marijuana usage ought to be legal or illegal?"
Pot legalization was favored by people who voted for Obama in 2008 (68%), moderates (53%), liberals (68%), and the very liberal (82%). In terms of party affiliation, legalization scored well with Democrats (65%) and independents (55%), but only won the support of 31% of Republicans.
Legalization won majority support among men (54%), but not women (49%), and among whites (51%), but not Hispanics (49%), although, with the poll's +/- 4.3% margin of error, both findings suggest a virtual dead heat. By age group, legalization had the greatest support among 18-to-29-year-olds (71%), followed by 46-to-65-year-olds (53%), 30-to-45-year-olds (52%). Only among the post-65-year-olds did legalization fail to win majority support (36%).
While the poll shows a slim majority favoring legalization, the conventional wisdom among initiative campaigners is that an initiative should be polling at least 60% when the campaign hits the ground running, so these results suggest campaigners in Colorado have their work cut out for them -- building support for legalization in principle and/or finding an initiative model that answers the questions causing some to go with no or undecided so far. These results also suggest that campaigners are going to have to craft messages that resonate with key demographic groups, particularly middle-aged mothers.
At least marijuana legalization is polling ahead of other hot-button social issues in Colorado. While a narrow majority favor freeing the weed, only 45% thought gay marriage should be legal or approved of a small state tax increase, while only 38% approved of the Tea Party and only 32% approved of legalizing prostitution.
Government Survey: Northeastern States Most Likely To Report Widespread Marijuana Consumption Share This Article
Rockville, MD: The northeastern part of the United States possesses the highest rates of self-reported marijuana consumption, according to a new federal government report.
As a region, New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont) rank in the top percentile for marijuana use in virtually every category surveyed -- including 'marijuana use in the past year among youths age 12 to 17,' 'marijuana use in the past year among persons age 18 to 25,' 'marijuana use in the past year among persons aged 12 and older,' and 'marijuana use in the past month among persons age 26 or older.'
Other states that consistently ranked in the top percentile of marijuana use in the United States are Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, and Oregon.
Nationally, the study reported "no increases in current illicit drug use occurred in any state" among those aged 12 to 17 between the years 2002-2003 and 2008-2009. The finding rebuffs claims recently made by the Drug Czar and other federal officials that the implementation of statewide medical marijuana laws -- most of which were enacted between the years 1998 and 2004 -- is encouraging increased use of cannabis and other illicit substances by young people.
A separate study published in June by the Marijuana Policy Project also reported, "[O]f the 13 states with available data, teen use rates have stayed the same or decreased since enacting medical marijuana laws."
The state-by-state consumption data was compiled from the federal government's annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which interviewed approximately 138,000 Americans age 12 and over in 2008-2009 on their use of licit and illicit substances.
Full text of the study, "State Estimates of Substance Use and Mental Disorders from the 2008-2009 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health," is available online from the US Department of Health and Services.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500, or Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at:
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ROSEANNE BAR RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT PERMITTING MARIJUANA?????
Friday, 05 August 2011 16:48 |
Roseanne Barr talks about her new show "Roseanne's Nuts" on Good Day NY in July 2011. (MyFox NY)
Roseanne Barr Says She is Running for President
Updated: Friday, 05 Aug 2011, 1:44 PM EDT Published : Friday, 05 Aug 2011, 1:44 PM EDT
(NewsCore) - Comedienne Roseanne Barr told Jay Leno she hopes to run for president under a newly created political party that eliminates money and permits marijuana.
"I am running for President of theUnitedStates ... I'm not for either party because they both suck and they're both a bunch of criminals, so I made up my own party -- it's America's Green Tea Party," she said late Thursday on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
"I'm totally serious, 'cause I want to be part of the debates, because I want to represent the taxpayer," she continued, adding she will be "choosing the taxpayers as my vice president."
Her platform includes eliminating taxes, legalizing marijuana and eradicating the use of money as payment for goods and services.
"Everything will be based on barter and growing and eating vegetables," she said.
Barr, 58, voiced her political ambitions as she promoted her recently launched Lifetime reality series "Roseanne's Nuts."
The docudrama shows her life on the 40-acre (16-hectare) macadamia nut farm she operates on Hawaii's Big Island with her boyfriend and son.
Barr received an Emmy and Golden Globe Award for her starring role on her "Roseanne" sitcom that ran on ABC from 1988 to 1997.
Discovery Channel is set to announce a potentially controversial new series: A docu-soap reality show set in the country’s largest medical marijuana distributorship and starring a pot reform activist. This fall, the network will unveilWeed Wars, where cameras follow the day-to-day dealings of a California ganja store.
The show follows Steve DeAngelo, the owner of Oakland’s Harborside Health Center, which serves 80,000 clients. According to the network, DeAngelo strives to provide patients with the highest-quality product and uses his business to promote the national regulation and taxation of cannabis.
“Weed Wars fearlessly pulls back the curtain on a once illegal and still controversial world,” said Nancy Daniels, executive vp at Discovery Channel. “From the inner workings of the business to Steve’s distinctive leadership style, Weed Wars is a fascinating glimpse into this highly unique setting. Like Gold Rush or Deadliest Catch, these are guys pursuing their own version of the American Dream.”
California passed the Compassionate Use Act in 1996 that permitted legalized pot dispensaries where customers can select from a variety of toke-able or edible products if they have a doctor’s approval. Some have accused the Act of essentially legalizing marijuana. But in addition to providing relief to some patients struggling with severe illnesses, the passage has also resulted in a new breed of local-owned brick-and-mortar outlets at a time when retail stores are shutting down as commerce increasingly shifts to big box stores and Internet.
The show will follow the journey of the plant from germination to harvesting to sales at Harborside, which has opened up a second location in San Jose despite “constant police monitoring and security sweeps,” says to the network.
What do you think, will you check out Weed Wars this fall? It’s sort of like Cake Boss with pot … or not.
ARTWORK/RANDOM SMOKES
Friday, 19 August 2011 10:05 | 
