cannabisnews.com: Most Residents OK With Use of Medical Marijuana





Most Residents OK With Use of Medical Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on February 15, 2007 at 10:00:06 PT
By Steve Terrell, The New Mexican
Source: New Mexican
New Mexico -- An overwhelming majority of New Mexicans support the idea of allowing people with serious medical conditions to smoke marijuana to ease symptoms, according to a poll commissioned by a drug-reform group lobbying for a medical marijuana bill in the Legislature. The poll, conducted by the SJC Research of Washington, D.C., also showed that a plurality of voters would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supported medical marijuana while a third would not be affected by a candidate’s stance on the issue.
Reena Szczepanski of the New Mexico Drug Policy Alliance, which commissioned the poll, said the findings show that legislators need not fear voting for Senate Bill 238, which recently passed overwhelmingly in the Senate and is moving through the House. Gov. Bill Richardson has endorsed the bill. The poll results are consistent with a 2002 poll conducted for The New Mexican and KOB-TV by the Mason-Dixon polling company of Washington, D.C. That poll showed 72 percent of respondents said they would favor “legalizing marijuana use by those who have serious medical conditions, to alleviate pain and other symptoms.” Only 20 percent in that poll opposed the idea, while 8 percent were undecided. The new poll asked: “Do you support or oppose making marijuana available to seriously ill or terminal patients in order to reduce the pain and suffering of illnesses such as cancer, AIDS and glaucoma?” Fifty percent said they “strongly supported” the proposal. Another 25 percent said they “somewhat” supported it. Eight percent said they “somewhat” opposed the idea, while 11 percent were “strongly” opposed. The remainder were undecided. Another question asked: “If a candidate for elected office in New Mexico voted to allow seriously ill patients access to marijuana for medical purposes with a medical provider’s recommendation, would you be more likely to vote for that candidate, less likely to vote for that candidate, or would that not make any difference to you?” Forty-two percent said more likely, while 17 percent said less likely. Thirty-three percent said “no difference,” while another 8 percent said they didn’t know. When asked, “If a close friend or family member was suffering from a condition that could be eased by marijuana, would you consider breaking the current law to obtain the drug for him or her?” only 32 percent said they would consider breaking the law. Forty-three percent said they wouldn’t break the law. Szczepanski said this shows the need for a bill like SB 238 to become law — though she admitted some respondents might have been reluctant to tell a stranger on the telephone they would break the law. The poll is based on interviews with 800 adults over the age of 18 who say they always or usually vote in general elections. The poll was conducted between Jan. 29 and Feb. 1. The margin of error is 3.5 percent. SJC owner Stephen Clermont has done polling work for the New Mexico Democratic Party and Santa Fe Mayor David Coss’ 2006 campaign. SB 238 is scheduled for a hearing before the House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee on Feb. 27. Complete Title: Poll: Most Residents OK With Use of Medical Marijuana SB238 Medical Marijuana Use: http://tinyurl.com/38zgwr Source: New Mexican, The (Santa Fe, NM)Author: Steve Terrell, The New MexicanPublished: February 15, 2007Copyright: 2007 The Santa Fe New MexicanContact: webeditor sfnewmexican.com Website: http://www.freenewmexican.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Drug Policy Alliancehttp://www.drugpolicy.org/Medical Marijuana Measure Clears Senate Againhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22612.shtmlSenate OKs Medical Marijuana Billhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22611.shtmlMedical Marijuana Bill Heads To Senatehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22598.shtml 
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on February 15, 2007 at 11:52:01 PT
nuevo mexican
I hope it passes this time. Thanks for sharing about CNews. I really appreciate it.
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Comment #2 posted by nuevo mexican on February 15, 2007 at 10:51:29 PT
What's Gary Johnson up to? Let's recruit him!
This is a great poll and a great article!
I've had the pleasure of meeting with, listening to, and speaking to Reena and the locals here at a meeting of New Mexican cannabis activists', and she is the greatest!I introduced the crowd to C-News, as the best place to be for our issues, and gave all the website info, so you are well known for being the Buzzflash.com of Cannabis websites FOM!If we can locate Gary Johnson, he's skiing now most likely, 
in the neighborhood if the rumors are true, and should be rewarded for his leadership of the legalization of Cannabis, don't ya think!Reena is out front and ahead of most on our issues, and Gary 
Johnson looks like a prophet now, when you look back to 8 years ago, and the progress we've made has been huge, though not enough!
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Comment #1 posted by observer on February 15, 2007 at 10:26:05 PT
Deliberation
Fifty percent said they “strongly supported” the proposal. Another 25 percent said they “somewhat” supported it. Eight percent said they “somewhat” opposed the idea, while 11 percent were “strongly” opposed. The remainder were undecided.Boy, I'd love to hear which of the above people gets a government paycheck (local, state, or federal). I'd bet that the "Eight percent said they “somewhat” opposed the idea, while 11 percent were “strongly” opposed" are heavily stacked for people who are 1) current government employees 2) are former government employees or 3) their companies directly profit from prohibition selling private prisons, drug testing kits/services, drug 'treatment' racket employees, etc. I wish the pollsters would get that information too, "Do you receive money from the government?" Deliberation, n.:The act of examining one's bread to determine which side it is buttered on.-- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 
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