Nearly 60 percent of Americans support regulating cannabis in a manner similar to alcohol, according to an analysis of over 450,000 online responses collected by the online polling data company CivicScience over a nearly two-year period.
Fifty-eight percent of respondents said that they would support “a law in [their] state that would legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana like alcohol?” Thirty-five percent of respondents said that they would oppose such a change in law.
An analysis of responses provided within the past three months found even stronger support for legalization, with 61 percent of those polled endorsing marijuana law reform.
Democrats, men, and those respondents between the ages of 25 to 34 were most likely to support regulating cannabis.
Though the CivicScience survey is not a scientific poll, its findings are similar to those previously reported by Gallup in 2013. In that poll, 58 percent of respondents similarly backed legalizing marijuana. More recently, in April, national polling data published by the Pew Research Center reported that 54 percent of Americans support legalizing the plant.
Legalizing the right to control our own bodies, my god that’s it!!
A coordinated strategy for cannabis, alcohol and tobacco is possible if the main slogan is “everything in moderation” and a dosage moderation equipment regimen instituted.
In the case of sifted or shredded particulate dry herb this means either vaporization
(many commercial variants now available, if one has money) or– at minimal cost or handmade by instructed owner– a flexible drawtube screened one-hitter with a quarter-inch or 5.5-mm diameter crater (a minimal skill needed to know how to vaporize 25-mg servings with it) replacing the overpromoted 500-mg hot burning overdose monoxide joint.
In the case of alcohol, it means little 2-ounce bottles for beer or wine such as we are used to seeing provided for high-proof liquors.
A little ingenuity and we can get control over the dosage issue and make every substance safe for users of all ages.
We take strong exception to the assertion that this was “not a scientific poll.” Our methodology is extremely scientific and has been validated by a long list of independent academic and industry researchers. The HuffPo writer just chose not to do the work necessary to evaluate that. http://public.civicscience.com/library/whitepapers/whitepaper-assessing-the-validity-of-civicscience-data/
Absolutely in favor of full across the board legalization…. and yes I vote every election believe it or not as a conservative… but on this one major issue, especially to my own medical needs I would jump ship to vote in people who will push for legalization… we the Medically in need people…need legalization… Only the drug companies who stand to lose money after legalization are the ones truly against legalization and I for one say enough is enough. We will no longer take this sitting down for the money hungry big pharmaceutical Companies.
Without a doubt in my mind cannabis should be legal like alcohol and taxed but not to the extreme.
Legalization makes no sense for most of us. Most states like mine have decriminalized less than an ounce. The black market will always offer it much cheaper and without government taxes.
Mexweed, NOOOOOO!!!! what you describe takes all the fun out of it. I smoke as much for the taste and body (almost) as for the high. I liked the smell and taste of marijuana from the first time I experienced it.
treat cannabis like alcohol and let people consume it however they wish. the difference between weed and alcohol is that consume enough alcohol and it can kill you, but weed can’t.
the only thing I will say is that there needs to be a lot of public education about cannabis infused edibles, which so often are made into things that appeal to children; candy, cakes, etc. Too much might not kill you but you might end up feeling so sick you wish it would.
@fireweed, not to deny there may be taste elements in “smoke” (among the 4221 combustion toxins) that appeal to you, here’s a compromise:
(a) while sucking slow and steady, hold lighter flame far enough below the tilted opening of your flexible drawtube one-hitter that air heated to 385F/195C enters upon the 25-mg loading of sifted particular budflower, for up to 19 seconds, then
(b) because you’ve captured the nutrient in the form of vapors, go ahead and let the rest (mainly cellulose) catch glow qand cash in on your taste experience.
(c) immediately put a Lunchspielhaus (breadbag) over your breath organs and breath 30 warm wet W’s in and out in honour of the Dawgwagner. This will minimize loss of unabsorbed nutrient and maximize taste-smell experience. Don’t question it, just try it.
If you perform this on even one or two 25-mg single tokes after a 47-hour abstinence layaway you’ll get a massive uprush of LEAP (Long-term Episodic Associative Performance) memory-quanta cash-in-able as product invention/innovation, education and art worth millions of Lire (plural of Lira).
You will find the FIRE is in YOU, not in the WEED– “The only fire we need to fear is the fuehrer himself”–FDR 3/4/33.
@John Dick
Ask yourselves, folks. Is this a real name?
At a minimum cannabis should be treated and regulated like alcohol. However, since it is much less dangerous than alcohol, I believe that any restrictions and regulations for cannabis should be much more relaxed!
Agree with @Miles, regs more relaxed than with alcohol, but hey folks,
(a) 25-mg single toke utensil technology itself will turn out to be all the restriction needed for cannabis, and
(b) this equipment-based dosage regulation idea will quickly spread over into alcohol consumption patterns, i.e. real meaning will be put into the word “MICROBREW” as small local breweries everywhere (with a few ganjaplants growing in their garden too and maybe used in some beer recipes) begin to market their precious product in little 2-ounce shippable/sippable mini-bottles like high-proof liquors are today!
Someday today’s guzzle-it-down-quick 12-ounce nonresealable beercan will be forgotten history (hysteria). And Hops (Humulus lupulus) will get intelligently dosagedownsized right along with its brothersister herb Cannabis ameriwana.
It should be Legal on a national level if people who have used in the past or present, be honest and we all know that this does not effect driving while high ,but you are really more aware and careful of your surroundings and less accidents occur, only when you add alcohol or some other drug does your driving become impaired. There should be no punishment for driving on marijuana only if were all real here and you should be able to work any job without fear of drug test for losing a job from marijuana in your system. the whole country really needs to catch up , government cover up has been going on way to long on pot. For all of us who suffer from chronic illness like myself and cannot use as medicinal, which would cut out a lot of other harmful legal drugs because of my job ,I wouldn’t be able to work. This is a shame for all people in USA, let’s get this fixed people.
I support legalization.
To whom it may concern with Idaho law enforcement about the discovery of 4600 marijuana plants growing in a cornfield in Cassa county. I have experience growing marijuana, and after viewing some photos of the plants taken in the raid can tell you right now that this operation was not worth 13.9 million dollars. Maybe Idaho law enforcement is miss-informed about marijuana, or as I have suspected for quite some time grossly over-inflating the estimate of the worth of these publicized busts in an effort aimed at angering the public,and making marijuana growers look like non-working non-taxpaying social freeloaders, and drug dealers driving fancy sports cars, and living in fine homes. I got my experience growing marijuana indoors, while I realize marijuana plants can under optimum conditions yield a pound of buds. I found with my indoor grow that a yield of one, to one and a half ounces of weed per plant was normal. I’m also a very hard working tax-paying citizen I live in a 550 dollar a month rented duplex, and drive a 20 year old automobile. any extra money I make selling weed to just a couple of close friends, lets me just break even after I pay the power bill. In order for that grow to have been worth 13.9 million each plant would have had to weigh in at a a pound of buds. I did some figuring of my own, and assigned each plant a more normal yield of three ounces per plant. I multiplied that by 4,600, and got 13,800 total ounces, or 862.5 pounds of marijuana, worth at a price of 140 dollars a ounce. (That’s what I sell mine for) or 2,240 dollars a pound, 862.5 pounds of marijuana would be worth about 1.93 million dollars.
Well Idaho law enforcement you can dock me as many IQ points as you wish you red-assed morons, but for one thing I find it hard to believe that the farmer was not aware of the marijuana in his cornfield or the activity on his property. Last but not least would be the cost to the taxpayers for clean-up and removal of the marijuana grow. Let me take a wag at it, maybe between 10,000-12,000 dollars conservatively? Because this was a illegal grow the state could have sold the marijuana for 100% profit. Don’t you think that money would have been well spent on help for the mentally ill, food, housing, schools or medical care for those that need it.
Cannabis may effectively be sold, taxed and regulated like alcohol, (raising home production to the “amount of cannabis allowable for home cultivation to sustain one ‘s family with adequate food, medicine, building materials for transportation and shelter and fuel.”
However, the rules of possession, punishment and allowable drug testing for employment, operation of a motor vehicle and education MUST be different than alcohol. We in the marijuana legalization community realize that several concessions have been made… Sacrifices… To compromise on legislation to get the general end of prohibition rolling. The strategy has been a sort of “He (or she) who fights and runs away lives to fight another day,” which is understandable with an agenda as complicated and diverse as cannabis legalization. But the argument that State a Police should fill our prisons with a drug test that only proves a driver has consumed marijuana in the last 30 days is unacceptable. Prison quotas and their lobbies simply have to go away and never come back.
Likewise a drug test for employment that determines one “consumed marijuana in the last 30 days” but can’t determine whether they were high during working hours is an unconstitutional breach of privacy. If someone shows up to work drunk, clearly their job is in question. If policy requires sobriety from marijuana during working hours, than respect your employer or vote with your feet and walk. But please, let’s not leave the archaic piss testing for anything we consume off the clock on our marijuana policy. Trying to argue that workers should then allow breathalyzers first thing in the morning only makes facetious and speculative entertainment without solving the problem with drug policy in general.
Finally, I will make one last distinction between alcohol and marijuana policy; if our system of punishment does not stop rewarding prison quotas, drug rehabs politicians and lobbyists instead of rewarding those who non-violently obey effective laws then those laws are made ineffective by default. We must stop the whole “one child left behind” or “3 strikes you’re filling some federal contract based on a prison quota” style of education and drug policy in our country. Our laws must reward the teacher who teaches with better pay and more resources; reward the law enforcer that solves a few real, violent crimes instead of offering the asset forfeitures, overtime and promotion to the officer who makes 40 arrests per month for non violent marijuana possessions.
If we don’t fundamentally change the way we reward and pay our public servants, law enforcement, case workers, district attorneys and educators, than we have lost the battle before we have even begun. Tax and regulate: revenue to educate!
Who ARE these thirty some percent, and what is their deal??
I think that California has the right idea.. u would pay around $100.00, for a annual card.. they are flexible with ailments to be used for.. I have some preaty severe anxiety issues, I have been labeled a criminal for using something that works better than pills.. I would feel like a zombie when on my meds.. citizens could also cultivate your cannabis, with limits.. if u exceed those limits u should be subject to prosecution.. the problem with full recreation use is that u find people smoking every where.. it should not be in the publics face all day.. I hope that I have people that agree with my views.. it should be recognized as a medicine that works..
Mayor Nutter of Philadelphia just signed a bill to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana
“I promise 100% transparency in my administration.”.
“I promise NO NEW TAXES on a family making less than $250K a year.”.
“I will allow 5 days of public comment before I sign any bills.”.
“I will remove earmarks from PORK projects before I sign any bill.”.
“I will end Income Tax for seniors making less than $50K a year.”
“I will bring ALL of our troops home within ONE year.”
“I’ll put the Health Care negotiations on CSPAN so everyone can see who is at the table!”.
“I’ll have no lobbyists in my administration.”
“I’ll close Guantanamo.”
“I’ll resign if I don’t cut the deficit in half by the end of four years.”
“I’ll unite the people of this great country.”
“I will put an end to the type of politics that “breeds division, conflict and cynicism”.
“I have Shovel-Ready Jobs.”
“Whistle blowers will be protected in my administration.”
“I Barrack Hussain Obama pledge to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.”
“I am a Christian”
“If you like your health Insurance you can keep it, PERIOD!”
Hi currently I am dealing with the indignity of a job on board process. I have a Cailfornia Medical Marijuana Prescription for various conditions that result in my inability to fall asleep. When I do fall into sleep I usually get through 1 REM session and waken again not being able to fall asleep again. POT enables me to fall asleep, unfortunately due to current Drug Laws in place I have been without my Medicine Voluntarily.
This Job process entails me dealing with 3 entities a Employment Recruiter The Employer and the Employer’s Client that they Service. Ultimately everyone but the Client is aware I am a Medical Pot User also the Drug Screen Lab is aware. First I did not disclose this and I am ashamed for any delay or impositions to the Recruiter. This is actually unfair to them and myself, we both are suffering the indignity of a Drug Law that is Putting everyone in a form of Slavery.
I feel like a Sell Out my Opinion is all Drug Laws are basic violation of the USA’s base and single most important right – the right to have freedom of expression – of a belief call it religion, personal politics or what ever label you choose I call the 1st amendment a way of life – I grew up with it I live it and how dare certain people try and in some cases block this RIGHT.
I have issue with the word Drug and some Entity classifying what is a Drug. I classify Sugar as a Drug It is Deadly, Harmful, Mind Altering, Body Altering and Addictive. I have Issue with Alcohol actually 2 issues 1 the celebration that that includes Men are Men if they drink certain brands of Booze and Women are degraded, in my Opinion for the Advantage of selling these Products. 2nd and this includes Pharmaceutical Medicines, that both these industries Lobby against Marijuana Just to make Money. This i down right sad, what happened to compassion?
Now on Pharmaceutical Drugs I have taken several kinds for several issues and not only have none of these drugs Addressed any issue I have had as well as Marijuana, the side effects are tremendously imposing on my lifestyle and health. Here is and Example 1 my bowels are effected greatly along with pains created I never had prior to taking these Medicines and they don’t ever do what they are designed to do to nearly as well as Marijuana. 2nd not only are the numerous side effects complicating but just as an example of sleeping pills
I wake groggy have to be at work expecting to preform my Job Duties with Stomach issues and not a Clear Mind.
What sickens we worst of all about this is the Social and Legal Acceptance of taking these Drugs Versus Marijuana.
Thanks Russell
P.S. You may use this and this P.S. Note in your fight for Us Slaves to Marijuana Laws Except for My Name Because there are these Slavery Laws that also make us Slaves to voicing our Opinion
I am a convicted criminal for committing the act of having medical cannabis in my home for my own personal use.
For this “crime”, I have “paid” more than someone who has forcibly touched a child.
Does this make any sense whatsoever? Of course not, but this is what we are faced with — laws and prosecution that just does not make any sense.
The personal use and cultivation of cannabis should be a free, personal choice — why should anyone, including the people who were chosen to “represent” us, be able to make that choice for us? They shouldn’t.
What makes this even more of a travesty is that the majority of citizens WANT their “representatives” (an oxymoron in and of itself) to get the laws changed both on a federal and state level, but our “representatives”, as an aggregate entity, are not listening. IF they are listening, then certainly, they are not acting on our wishes that should be our right.
No one is promoting the sale or conveyance of cannabis to children — no one. But as adults, we should have the freedom of choice to do what we wish to do with our personal, private lives.
How can “our” government condone the legality of alcohol and tobacco that kill 100,000 citizens EACH YEAR, in addition to destroying the families of those who fall prey to these legal substances? How does this make any sense whatsoever? What is the response that you get to this question from any “representative” in our government? You won’t get a response, and if you do, it’s rhetoric — OR you might get the correct and appropriate response — that being, “That’s a good question, because I wholeheartedly agree with you…” There ARE some representatives that are honest with their response — kudos to those who dare…
The bottom line is that this issue of prohibition of cannabis is no different that than of alcohol — it’s a breach of a personal right and freedom of choice that all adult citizens should hold. Draconian laws against the legal use or “manufacture” of alcohol, tobacco or cannabis should not exist. It’s our life — let us lead it as we wish — as long as we don’t victimize, impede, impinge upon or threaten another citizen’s freedom for them to lead their life they way they wish.
Victimless acts should not be crimes — they are life choices that we as adults should be allowed to make.
Ilion, NY
“Tobacco”– mainly H-ot B-urning O-verdose M-onoxide $igarettes– kills 480,000 Americans a year, 6,000,000 a year worldwide. US Surgeon General Report, 2014: “$moking”-related illnesses cost US economy $289Bil. a year.
1. Substitute cannabis (or alfalfa, basil, chamomile, damiana, eucalyptus etc.) for tobacco,
2. Substitute vaporization for “$moking”,
3. Substitute 25-mg single toke for 500-mg “joint” (giant) and 700-mg $igarette. See wikiHow.com article, “12 Ways to Make Pipes from Everyday Objects”.
i dont see how u can ban a plant somthing that god put on this earth ppl as far back as achenit rome have been using pot for many uses not just smoking i am a republican and i belive that it should be used more like cigeretes than alcohol and also police crack down on smokers harder cause they associate with the dealer who in quite a few cases come into gun fights with cops weather or not they sell the fact is dealers kill cops cops retaliate and give harder time to smokers but the cops dont understand is if it is legalized then theres really no reason for the gun fights and the violance its imposiable to not see the economy booming due to legalizeing in colrado now i am from new york upsate rochester and i know its been legalized for med use and yes i can get a med card i have a sleeping disorder i have already asked if its possiable however i have not only because it would be selfish if i got the card i wont give a fuck about legalizing y should i i have my shit soo on that note i am a god lovein gun totin full blooded american and as a famous patriot once said give me liberty or give me death i say
LEGALIZE DONT PENALIZE A GOD GIVEN PLANT
-daniel copas
btw i apologize for my grammar
Please notify any qualified patient,those who DO NOT HAVE A STATE ISSUED MMP ID CARD,only available from a County Department of Public Health,that they STILL face arrest if found in possession of Marijuana. Once they are arrested and brought to court,they MAY have the opportunity to present whats called a Compassionate Use Defense. This involves showing,by admission of proof to the court that;A doctor has RECOMMENDED it could help,that you didn’t have more than necessary for your symptoms,and that you have an illness that could be helped.Many patients are unable to prove each of these points and are unable to have evidence of their docs rec given to a jury. Patients are being convicted on sales/possession charges.The ONLY PROTECTION FROM ARREST IN THE FIRST PLACE IS THE STATE ISSUED CARD.LETS MAKE THIS CLEAR,THE ID PROGRAM IS VOLUNTARY YES,BUT IF YOU DON’T HAVE IT AND ARE FOUND IN POSSESSION ,YOU COULD BE ARRESTED AND CHARGED,WITH A DOCS REC IN YOUR HAND.GET THE STATE CARD…IT IS MANDATORY TO AVOID ARREST.
According to the ASA website there are 3,000,000 “qualified patients “,those who ONLY hold a doctor’s recommendation, in Ca in 2014. There have been slightly over 75,000 STATE ISSUED ID cards produced in CA 2007-2014. This means that over 2,000,000 “qualified patients ” STILL FACE ARREST if found in possession of Marijuana, even while holding their doctor’s recommendation in their hands. Prop 215 and SB420s language is deceptive in that it repeatedly states that the MMP ID is VOLUNTARY.But if patients are penalised by arrest for not being in possession of a MMP ID,then it appears THAT IT IS MANDATORY to AVOID ARREST. GET THE STATE CARD..AVOID ARREST
If People want to legalize marijuana they should develop self discipline first. Using marijuana extremely is not good for the health as well as alcohol. If the government will going to legalize marijuana for sure many people will grab the opportunity to use more and more.
Here’s a question for you. I own two acres of land. For many years now I have tried to plant and harvest a crop, but have had no success. That is because the flipping deer ADORE the stuff. I put up a fence. They knock it down. I’ve thrown mothballs all over the place. No success. Anyone have any ideas as to how to keep the damn deer OUT OF MY GROW?
@harold; your comment subsequent to llion’s very eloquent defense of non violent self medication seems moronic at best. If marijuana consumers weren’t already disciplined under archaic laws of prohibition, imagine the order and productivity of a society that legally regulates the sale and use of the world’s most versatile medicine, fuel, food and building material? Legalization is about sensible regulation… Which compliments sensible self discipline.
For example, it will be sensible self discipline for me to vote Democratic in the coming elections… Not because I agree with everything on their platform, but because the Democratic Party at large embraces the movement to end prohibition and replace unjust laws with fair marijuana legislation.
@Julian: Your response to this sensitive issue sounded more subjective rather than rational. Narrow opinion such as yours dwells only on one side of the boat. No one can assume general discipline and even there is a so called regulation, the term “abuse” will always resurface and that’s what I am more concerned of. Legalization bears undeniable consequence and no one can control consumers completely and perfectly. I’m not with Ilion here. I’m just stating that there are things that we need to consider in making marijuana legal. Well, legal or not. Marijuana is still being abused. What more if it’s legal, right? And yes to some, marijuana has medical benefits but there are also studies that states that marijuana smoke contains similar range of harmful chemicals to that of tobacco smoke. Many people think that marijuana is not harmful and believe it is not addictive, like some other “harder drugs”. Well, marijuana can be highly addictive and that can lead an individual to use harder drugs and alcohol in combination.
Well, just look at Amsterdam. Marijuana is legal there but it didn’t worked well. Amsterdam today became the first city in the Netherlands to ban students from smoking marijuana at school. Their city mayor introduced the law after school chiefs complained that students turning up to classes high after rolling up outside their grounds. Citizens from this country are now alarmed that their children are increasingly being exposed to marijuana. Well, they say that when we legalized marijuana it will reduce crimes. But look at Amsterdam now, it has been found that crime is now centering around the coffeehouses where marijuana is sold.
@Harold, Amsterdam (I’ve been there, seen it)suffers from the particularly European curse of the TOBACCO-ADMIXTURE JOINT. “Students turning up to classes high after rolling up” may in 2/3 of all cases have nicotine in their system along with the cannabinoid– but cannabis gets the blame if anything goes wrong!
This “mix-use” habit may have started because the tobacco seemed a “harmless” or “neutral” filler to help get hashish burning.
Or some folks may have been trying to “get more smokes” i.e. joints from the same amount of cannabis, or cover up the cannabis smell etc.
Result: as the Australian Department of Health has stated, the tobacco-infested joint serves as a “Trojan Horse” to get kids hooked on nicotine– a lifelong paying addict to $igarette companies (plus the government which tolerates that racket in exchange for getting a share of the proceeds as “taxes”). Today every European country has a higher rate of $igarette addiction in the adult population than the USA (18%– but we too have “blunts” which get kids in certain minority populations hooked via nicotine in the glamorous deceptive cigar wrapper skin.)
Legalization will KILL “abuse” forever by eliminating the need for overdose monoxide “rolling papers” which are EASIER TO HIDE FROM YOUR MOM OR THE COP than a proper vaporizer or a one-hitter with flexible drawtube attached to its butt end. “Paraphernalia” (paranoid-infernal-alien) laws will fade away and it will then be possible for us NORMLizers to go out demonstrating like Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons and convert all remaining joint and/or $igarette $mokers to modern 25-mg Vape Toke utensil technology– saving 6,000,000 lives a year and winning a No-Evil Prize for the beloved Organization.