cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Has Public Support Medical Marijuana Has Public Support Posted by FoM on May 16, 2000 at 09:49:44 PT By Lynda Arakawa, Advertiser Capitol Bureau Source: Honolulu Advertiser More than half of Hawaii residents agree that certain people should be allowed to use marijuana for medical purposes, a recent Honolulu Advertiser/Channel 2 News Hawaii Poll suggests. Lawmakers passed legislation this session allowing people to smoke marijuana to relieve symptoms from illnesses such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV and AIDS. Under the bill, patients would have to be diagnosed by a licensed physician as having a debilitating medical condition and have a written certification from the physician that the potential benefits of medical marijuana outweigh health risks.Sixty percent of the Hawaii adults surveyed said they agreed with the bill. A little more than a third of those polled said they disagreed, and 4 percent said they didn’t know. The margin of error for the poll is 4.4 percentage points.People under 55 years old favored the measure by about a 2-1 ratio, while those 55 and older were split on the issue.Caucasians showed the most support for the bill; slightly more than half of the Filipino respondents disagreed with it.Legislators were divided on the issue. Opponents said the bill would open the gates to more dangerous drugs, and that the state should not legalize a drug that hasn’t been approved by the federal government. Supporters said medical marijuana would relieve the suffering of many patients and that there are enough safeguards to protect children and the community.Gov. Ben Cayetano, who proposed similar legislation, said he would sign the bill.Ward Research of Honolulu randomly surveyed 504 Hawaii adults, May 4-9. Web Posted: Tuesday, May 16, 2000© Copyright 2000 The Honolulu Advertiser, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.Related Articles & Web Sites:Drug Policy Forum Of Hawaiihttp://drugsense.org/dpfhi/Hawaii Medical Marijuana Institute http://medijuana.com/Medical Marijuana OK Shows True Compassion http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5544.shtmlMarijuana Act Creates Enforcement Bramble http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5524.shtmlMedical Marijuana Law Doesn’t Mean Usagehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5522.shtmlHawaii Lawmakers Approve Bill on Med. Use of MMJhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5518.shtml CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives: http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: