cannabisnews.com: S.F. Voters Support Marijuana Measure, Poll Shows 





S.F. Voters Support Marijuana Measure, Poll Shows 
Posted by CN Staff on September 13, 2002 at 11:06:42 PT
By Josh Richman, Staff Writer
Source: Oakland Tribune 
A San Francisco ballot measure to have the city consider growing and distributing medical marijuana has enormous support, a new poll shows. The idea -- on the city's November ballot as Proposition S -- could inspire other cities to do the same. "Every time there's a locality doing something to continue the legitimacy of Proposition 215, it gives other local governments more confidence," Joe De-Vries, aide to Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, said Thursday. 
The federal government deems all marijuana growth, possession or use illegal, even though California voters approved medical use in 1996. Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Oregon and Washington have similar laws. The poll, which gave 500 likely voters Proposition S's exact wording -- "Shall it be City policy to consider growing and distributing marijuana for medical use?" -- found 63 percent certain or leaning toward voting "yes" and 23 percent certain or leaning toward voting "no." The rest were undecided or declined to answer. Also, 58 percent said they would be more likely to vote for a city supervisor who "decided to challenge the federal government and fight for the right of San Francisco to grow medical marijuana for seriously ill residents"; 20 percent said they would be less likely. Proposition S was put forth by San Francisco supervisors Mark Leno, Tom Ammiano, Matt Gonzalez and Sophie Maxwell. Leno is running for the state Assembly and Maxwell's re-election bid is unopposed this year, while Ammiano -- who has mayoral aspirations -- and Gonzalez serve terms ending in 2004. The poll was conducted last Saturday through Tuesday, days after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration angered many Bay Area residents by raiding the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana near Santa Cruz. Conducted by David Binder Research of San Francisco and paid for by the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, the poll has a 4.4 percentage point margin of error. DeVries said Miley hopes to pitch a plan for county-issued ID cards for medical marijuana users and caregivers at next month's Board of Supervisors health committee meeting. San Francisco adopted such a system in 2000, and San Diego approved one in February. Moving toward actually providing medical marijuana "would be a harder sell over here," because Alameda County has more conservative areas, DeVries said. Yet the idea has been discussed by Oakland and county officials in the past and could be revived, he added: "We've got a lot of land out there in south county. Do we have the ability, is there the space? Sure." Source: Oakland Tribune (CA)Author: Josh Richman, Staff WriterPublished: Friday, September 13, 2002 Copyright: 2002 MediaNews Group, Inc. Contact: triblet angnewspapers.com Website: http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/News Articles on WAMM Raidhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/valc.htmVoters To Decide On Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13523.shtmlSan Francisco Puts Growing Marijuana on Ballot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13517.shtmlSan Francisco Eyes Marijuana Farminghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13512.shtml 
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Comment #2 posted by The GCW on September 13, 2002 at 16:03:06 PT
Every new bust will see these stats grow
in the favor of Our Father's cannabis plant.
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Comment #1 posted by goneposthole on September 13, 2002 at 11:44:26 PT
It's Insane
No one will rue the day nor regret the death of the drug war.
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