The Marijuana Law Tipping Point

by Ben Morris

Published May 08, 2009 @ 08:40AM PT

Yesterday marked the first time in history that a nationwide poll showed majority support for taxing and regulating marijuana (at 52%).  The poll, conducted by Zogby International at the end of April, was also one of the largest sample sizes of any national polls on the subject, with almost 4,000 respondents and a margin of error of +/- 1.6%.

This poll, in combination with recent trends, is further evidence that Americans are quickly realizing the value of taxing and regulating marijuana. Congress, however,  is often slow to keep up. If you want to push Congress to act, visit mpp.org/federal-action, where MPP’s online system makes it fast and easy to ask your member of Congress to end 70 years of failed marijuana prohibition.

Looking beyond the top-line level of majority support to the cross tabulations, where support and opposition are shown among numerous variables, we can build a helpful profile of marijuana legalization supporters:

Age: Taxing and regulating marijuana enjoys majority support across every age group except for the over-65 crowd, which registers 44% support.

Region: Voters in the East (52%) and West (60%) are more likely than voters in the South (48%) or the Midwest (48%) to support taxing and regulating marijuana.

Culture: Those who never shop at Wal-Mart (72%) are more than twice as likely to support marijuana legalization than regular Wal-Mart shoppers (35%).  NASCAR fans (38%) are significantly less likely to support it than non-fans (54%).

Religion: Jewish voters (76%) were more likely than Catholics (47%) or Protestants (45%) to support legalizing marijuana.  Voters who consider themselves “born again” (33%) are far less likely to support it than voters who are not “born again” (55%).

Party affiliation: Democratic Party members are the most likely to support legalizing marijuana (68%), with Independents showing strong majority support (54%).  Liberals (79%) are the most likely to support it, with moderates (58%) trailing by 21 points and conservatives (25%) trailing fully 54 points behind liberals.

Presidential election: Those who voted for President Obama (69%) were much more likely to support legalizing marijuana than McCain voters (30%).

Other recent polls:

Mexico moves to decriminalize marijuana

by Ben Morris

Published May 01, 2009 @ 07:47AM PT

Mexico’s Senate passed a bill on Tuesday decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana and other drugs. The bill would make it legal to carry up to 5 grams of marijuana in Mexico and defers low-level drug dealing cases to the Mexican states.

Proposed by President Felipe Calderon, the bill seeks to free up law enforcement resources in order to better fight violent drug cartels that have drawn international attention. The legislation must pass in the lower house before being sent to the president and signed into law.

This is notable not only because a similar proposal was vetoed by former Mexican President Vicente Fox under pressure from then-President Bush, but also because it closely follows Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan’s April 12 statement on Face the Nation that ending marijuana prohibition is a debate that should be happening on both sides of the border.

U.S. and Mexican officials estimate that between 60% and 70% of the drug cartels’ profits come from marijuana sales in the U.S.  So while efforts to decriminalize marijuana possession in Mexico are laudable, ambitious legislation in the U.S. is needed to fully combat the rising tide of violence along the border.

See this piece from Reuters for more information on Mexico’s decriminalization bill.

Senate Win for Rhode Island Compassion Centers Rounds Out Big Day for Medical Marijuana

by Ben Morris

Published April 30, 2009 @ 10:31AM PT

We just got word that the Rhode Island Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill, 35-2, that would establish “compassion centers” to provide medical marijuana to qualified patients, making access for the seriously ill far safer and more reliable.

Just to recap, that means three huge victories for medical marijuana patients and advocates today. Earlier, the senates in New Hampshire and Minnesota both passed bills that would protect seriously ill patients from arrest for using medical marijuana with their doctor’s recommendation.

That brings all three states much closer to improving the lives of their seriously ill medical marijuana patients, but we aren’t there yet, so stay tuned.

Although a vote for a bill similar to those in Minnesota and New Hampshire by the Illinois Senate didn’t take place today, that’s not necessarily bad news. It gives the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Bill Haine, more time to build support among his colleagues after amending the bill to address the concerns made by some law enforcement officials.

Meanwhile, many of those same law enforcement officials and the drug-war supporting organization Educating Voices have announced a press conference at the Statehouse tomorrow at 10 a.m. Central to argue against Haine’s bill.

I mention their press conference because I think it’s important to air all sides of this debate. I also think it helps the cause of seriously ill patients who rely on medical marijuana for people to hear the rationale behind those who would continue to make them criminals.

Oh, Illinois residents, please let your representatives know it’s time to end the cruel, senseless war against medical marijuana patients. We’re close to ending it in Illinois, but they need your help.

Call Congress

by Ben Morris

Published April 13, 2009 @ 01:57PM PT

Calling your member of Congress is an easy and effective way to support marijuana policy reform. In this new video, you can watch MPP's lobbyist call his representative, and see how easy it is. For more information, phone numbers, and talking points, visit mpp.org/callcongress.

Tax and Regulate Marijuana [Video]

by Ben Morris

Published April 07, 2009 @ 08:22AM PT

A look at some of the reasons why the United States should consider taxing and regulating marijuana for responsible adult use.

Ask Obama why

by Ben Morris

Published March 27, 2009 @ 08:44AM PT

Yesterday, President Obama dismissed marijuana reform with a chuckle and a quip. He failed justify his position and he failed to respect the millions of Americans who disagree with him on this point.

Please join me in asking President Obama why. The link below will take you to an online petition where you can e-mail the president and ask for a real response to a serious policy question.

E-mail Obama: Ask for a real response.

Obama got it wrong

by Ben Morris

Published March 26, 2009 @ 01:21PM PT

President Obama addressed the idea of taxing and regulating marijuana at an online town hall event today. His words: “No, I don’t think that is a good strategy to grow our economy.”

Clearly, he got that wrong. But that isn’t everything.

The president himself, not the moderator who was reading questions submitted via whitehouse.gov, raised the topic. His answer was prefaced with the recognition that this was a “fairly popular question.”

Actually, it was the most popular question, by far. Yet the president failed to treat it with the same thoughtfulness awarded to other topics. The entirety of his response is below (yes, it’s only 53 seconds long). Do you think he handled it fairly?