West Virginia is the 14th most conservative state in the country. It has the third highest percentage of senior citizens in the country and it is the state where Mitt Romney won his fifth largest share of the vote. Despite all that there is still majority support for medical marijuana, according to a new Public Policy Polling survey done for the Marijuana Policy Project.

West Virginia
PPP (1/7-9)
Do you support or oppose changing the law in West Virginia to allow seriously and terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana if their doctors recommend it?
Support ………………. 53%
Oppose ………………. 40%
Not sure ……………… 6%

This poll highlights how mainstream and uncontroversial medical marijuana is with regular Americans. The public overwhelmingly supports this policy even in very conservative states like West Virginia.

Given its broad support is is absurd that the federal government continues to categorize marijuana as a Schedule I substance. This makes medical marijuana still technically illegal under federal law even in the states where it has been approved.

Photo by jamiev_0 under Creative Commons license

A solid majority of American voters think marijuana should be legal according to new Public Policy Polling.  The recent poll found that 58 percent of voters think marijuana should be legal, while 39 percent think it should remain illegal. Most of those who oppose marijuana legalization feel strongly that it should remain illegal, while support for legalization is fairly evenly split between those who feel strongly about it and those who don’t. The poll also found that 50 percent of voters think marijuana will be legal in the United States within the next 10 years, while only 37 percent think it will not be legal.

Democrats and Independents overwhelmingly believe marijuana should be legalized, but a majority of Republicans oppose the policy change. There is also a significant generational divide when it comes to opinions about legalization. Voters under thirty are most likely to feel strongly that marijuana should be legal while senior citizens tend to feel strongly that it should remain illegal. Interestingly, young voters are actually the most pessimistic about legalization future. The poll found 52 percent think it will not be fully legalized in the next ten years, while 48 percent think it will. On the other hand, 51 percent of voters over the age of 65 think legalization will happen in the next decade, while just 32 percent think it won’t.

While this poll shows some of the highest levels of support for marijuana legalization of any recent national survey, it should be noted that PPP’s polling on marijuana legalization initiatives has proven to be remarkably accurate in the past two election cycles. In 2010, PPP very accurately predicted the overall yes vote for Proposition 19 in California. Similarly, PPP’s final polling in Colorado and Washington State this cycle very closely matched the final results.

The full poll results can be found at the Marijuana Policy Project Blog.

Photo by boodoo under Creative Commons license.

Mason-Dixon 5/10-14
Do you feel President Obama should: (ORDER ROTATED)
- Respect the medical marijuana laws in these states, or
- Use federal resources to arrest and prosecute individuals who  are acting in compliance with state medical marijuana laws?
74% Respect State Laws
15% Prosecute Fed Law
11% Not Sure

The desire for the federal government to leave states alone when it comes to medical marijuana is strong across the political spectrum, with a solid majority of Democrats (75%), Independents (79%) and Republicans (67%) all feeling President Obama should respect state laws.  In addition, a solid majority of every age group, race and gender think state medical marijuana laws should be respected by the federal government.

Not surprisingly, national support for the federal government leaving state medical marijuana programs alone closely matches the national support for medical marijuana in general. Clearly the American people think medical marijuana has value and the government shouldn’t stop sick people from obtaining it.

Unfortunately since Obama took office the executive branch has waged an aggressive multi-agency war on medical marijuana. Most observers have concluded that the federal crackdown on state medical marijuana programs under Obama has been worse than any other recent president, including George W. Bush.

Obama has claimed that his administration must go after any state medical marijuana system because it is against federal law.  But in reality the Controlled Substance Act gives the executive branch the authority to unilaterally reschedule cannabis to make it legal for medical purposes. This action would not require Congressional approval and would finally bring federal law on medical marijuana in accordance with the overwhelming wishes of the electorate.

Current Vermont law provides for a jail term of up to six months and a fine of up to $500 for simple possession of marijuana. Would you support or oppose a change in the law to provide for a fine of up to $150 without jail time for those who possess an ounce or less of marijuana for personal use?

Support …………63%
Oppose ………… 29%
Not Sure ………..8%

In addition, the poll found that the people of the state strongly back its medical marijuana laws. A full 75 percent of voters in the state support the medical marijuana laws while only 18 percent oppose it.

Perhaps the most interesting result of the poll is that Vermonters view marijuana as much safer than alcohol. A plurality of 42 percent of voters, when asked, said they believe marijuana is safer than alcohol. On the other hand, only 32 percent of voters feel the two substance are about equally as safe, and just 15 percent believe alcohol is actually safer than cannabis.

As one of the more liberal states in the country, it is not surprising that the people of Vermont are so open to marijuana policy reform.

(photo: pashabo/Shutterstock.com)

(photo: prensa420/flickr)

A majority, 52 percent, of Rhode Island voters would support legalizing marijuana and having it taxed and regulated in a manner similar to alcohol according to a new PPP poll sponsored by the Marijuana Policy Project. Just 41 percent of voters in the state would oppose this change.

In addition, the poll found an impressive 65 percent of the state would support dropping the penalty for marijuana possession down to just a modest civil fine. That is even a greater level of support than the 62.8 percent yes vote by which voters in Massachusetts, RI’s neighbor to the north, approved ballot initiative Question 2 that decriminalized marijuana possession in 2008. From MPP:

Of those polled, an overwhelming 65% supported decreasing the penalties for simple possession of less than an ounce of marijuana by removing the possibility of jail time and making the offense a civil citation. Such a change received support from across the political spectrum, with 73% of Democrats, 64% of Republicans, and 60% of independents in favor of the measure. Two bills, H 7092 and S 2253, have been introduced in the Rhode Island House and Senate to remove the threat of arrest and jail for personal possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

A majority of Rhode Islanders would like to go beyond the reforms proposed by H 7092 and S 2253. Of those polled, 52% would like to see all penalties for personal possession and use of marijuana removed and marijuana treated in a manner similar to alcohol, where it would be taxed, regulated, and sold in state-licensed stores to adults over the age of 21. This idea also received bipartisan support and was backed by 55% of Democrats and 54% of Republicans. Legislation to establish such a system will likely be introduced in Rhode Island this year.

Support for reforming our country’s outdated laws regarding cannabis is very strong and growing rapidly. This is a trend we are seeing both at the national and the state level. Last year Gallup found that 50 percent of American adults would support marijuana legalization. In just the past few months state polls have found a majority of voters in Massachusetts, California and now Rhodes island would support legalizing marijuana and regulating it like alcohol.

As a country we are quickly approaching a critical cultural and political tipping point on this issue.

The Maryland Legislature is considering a bill to make Maryland the 16th state to allow medical marijuana. The bill would allow patients with multiple sclerosis, cancer, debilitating pain, and other serious illnesses to use and purchase marijuana for medical purposes with their doctors’ approval after conventional treatments have been tried. Do you support this proposal?

72% – Yes
21% – No
7% – Not sure

The overwhelming support for medical marijuana in Maryland mirrors the strong level of support for the issue nationwide. A Pew poll from last April found that 73 percent of American support legalizing medical marijuana, while only 23 percent opposed.

Given the incredible level of support, inside the state and around the country, it is amazing to me that there is even a debate about whether or not Maryland will adopt what is likely going to be a very heavily regulated medical marijuana bill. Clearly, legalizing medical marijuana is what the electorate of the state wants.

The National Journal reports that the Senate Judiciary Committee will move the nomination on Michele Leonhart for DEA administrator next week after a seven-month delay. Leonhart, a drug warrior to the core, has served as the temporary head of DEA since she was promoted to that position by George W. Bush in 2007.

In her time at the DEA, Leonhart has organized the campaign against medical marijuana, and ignored the clear directive from Attorney General Eric Holder to stop raiding dispensaries. Despite this flagrant insubordination, President Obama saw fit to nominate Leonhart to serve as the official DEA head earlier this year.

Groups advocating for medicinal marijuana have waged a spirited campaign to derail Leonhart’s confirmation. In a July letter to President Obama, several pro-marijuana groups and liberal organizations, such as FireDogLake and the 10th Amendment Center, accused Leonhart, a Bush administration holdover who is serving as DEA’s acting administrator, of ignoring an October 2009 Justice Department directive urging federal authorities not to waste government time and resources “on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws.”

President Obama offered a similar view while campaigning in 2008.

Though the number of DEA raids on medicinal marijuana growers has dropped, the agency has carried out dozens since the directive was issued. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and other groups accuse Leonhart of continuing a policy she helped oversee while a top DEA deputy under Bush.

And now, it looks like Leonhart will move through the Senate next week, with few signs that anyone in the Senate will actually fight her nomination, let alone stop it.

What the groups have not been able to do, however, is get the attention of the White House or the Senate.

“The federal government ignoring the concerns of people in the marijuana-reform community is nothing new,” said Mike Meno, a spokesman for the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project.

Public-opinion polls show growing support for marijuana legalization, and a small medicinal-marijuana industry is taking leaf in California. But Leonhart’s likely confirmation, and the defeat of a California’s Proposition 19, a ballot measure that would have weakened anti-marijuana California’s laws, show that the political clout of legalization advocates remains well short of their numbers, particularly when it comes to the Senate.

California’s liberal Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., for example, opposed Proposition 19 during her successful reelection bid.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., this fall said he did not yet have a position on Leonhart; other committee members, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said the same. Committee aides said that criticism of her over marijuana policy had not registered much with staffers, let alone members.

Let’s be clear here: the public overwhelmingly supports medical marijuana, and the President and Attorney General of the United States have said the federal government should not waste resources targeting medical marijuana dispensaries. Leonhart doesn’t give a shit, and continues to harass medical marijuana dispensaries anyway, and neither Obama nor Holder see the clear hypocrisy of giving Leonhart a promotion under these circumstances.

Now the same Senate that unanimously voted to increase penalties for pot brownies will likely let Leonhart coast through the chamber in a lame-duck session next week. Chairman Patrick Leahy said he doesn’t have an opinion on Leonhart, and we all know what Dianne “Reefer Madness” Feinstein must think. There really isn’t a play to stop her nomination, unless anyone has some embarassing photographs that should turn up in the next week.

Leonhart’s nomination by Obama – and her inevitable approval by the Senate – is yet another sign that the public is far ahead of politicians on marijuana and the need to end the War on Drugs. Letting voters choose to legalize marijuana is the only way to end the war on marijuana.

The Marijuana Policy Project – which put the initiative on the ballot and provided major funding and support for the campaign – reports that there are up to 300,000 ballots to be counted.

From an email by MPP director Rob Kampia:

Based on the ballots tabulated by election officials last night, the initiative was trailing slightly, with 49.75% in favor, with 50.25% opposed … a difference of less than 7,000 votes out of more than 1.3 million cast.

For the next few days, Arizona government officials will be counting an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 votes that were cast by people whose mail-in ballots arrived at polling stations or elections offices in the final hours of the campaign. They may also need to examine thousands of “provisional” ballots that were cast by people whose residency was in dispute at the polls on election day.

In sum, if our initiative receives 52% of the votes that have yet to be tabulated, our initiative passes.

We may know more about the fate of Prop 203 in the coming days and weeks; if it passes, Arizona patients will have safe access to medical marijuana, and as many as 120 dispensaries could spring up across the state. If you want to help Prop 203 with their battle for every last vote, head on over and make a donation.