Two New Nationwide Polls Find That Majority Of Americans Believe Marijuana Should Be Legal

Two New Nationwide Polls Find That Majority Of Americans Believe Marijuana Should Be Legal.

via Two New Nationwide Polls Find That Majority Of Americans Believe Marijuana Should Be Legal.

Two New Nationwide Polls Find That Majority Of Americans Believe Marijuana Should Be Legal

Two New Nationwide Polls Find That Majority Of Americans Believe Marijuana Should Be Legal

New York, NY: A majority of US adults believe that the consumption of marijuana ought to be legal, according to the results of two nationwide polls released last week.A poll conducted by NBC and the Wall Street Journal found that fifty-five percent of American adults nationwide support legalizing marijuana. Nearly a quarter of the respondents said that while they do not personally agree with legalization, they would not actively seek to repeal laws approved by voters or state legislatures.The second poll, commissioned by CBS, found that fifty-one percent of respondents answered affirmatively to the question, “Should marijuana use be legal?” The percentage is the highest ever reported by the survey, which has been tracking public opinion on the issue since 1979 (when only 27 percent of adults endorsed legalization), and marks a six-point jump in support since the last time pollsters posed the question in April 2013.Forty-four percent of respondents in this poll opposed legalizing cannabis.Age, gender, and political affiliation influenced respondents’ opinions regarding legalization. According to the CBS survey data, a majority of all respondents under age 65 now support legalizing cannabis. Most men (57 percent), but not women (46 percent) back legalization. Most self-identified Democrats (59 percent) and Independents (54 percent), but not Republicans (35 percent) support making marijuana legal.Recently released nationwide surveys by Gallup and CNN also reported that a majority of Americans are now in favor of legalizing cannabis.When asked about their views on the therapeutic use of cannabis, 86 percent of respondents told CBS pollsters that physicians ought to be allowed to authorize marijuana use to their patients — an increase of 24 percent since 1997, when pollsters first began asking the question.Sixty-two percent of respondents also endorsed letting individual states rather than the federal government specify marijuana policies.The NBC/WSJ poll surveyed 800 adults from January 22-25 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.46 percentage points. Over 1,018 adults nationwide participated in the CBS survey, which possesses a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, or Erik Altieri, NORML Communications Director, at (202) 483-5500

Original article at: http://norml.org/news/2014/01/30/two-new-nationwide-polls-find-that-majority-of-americans-believe-marijuana-should-be-legal

The United States Government’s Hypocritical, Sorry and VERY dated incorrect information on Marijuana.

The latest American Governments take on Marijuana: Warning, the science on this information is out-dated! It is likened to the government movie: Reefer Madness;

Now, a real, current, highly regarded physician, Dr. Sanjay Gupta!

Everybody Favors Marijuana Legalization Except Elderly Republicans

This is me…Mr. Cannablogna! I am a Desert Storm Vet and the owner of this blog. I did my time for the government and ended up with PTSD, insulin dependent diabetes, anxiety, depression…was exposed to terrible conditions, brutality, war…Why can’t our elected officials HELP US! Medical Marijuana improves PTSD symptoms. It does not cause schizophrenia unless the person is already schizophrenic. Alcohol is flat deadly…the government doesn’t care about alcoholism!

Q.  Isn’t marijuana generally harmless?

No.  Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States. The main active chemical in marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, more commonly called THC.  THC acts upon specific sites in the brain, called cannabinoid receptors, starting off a series of cellular reactions that ultimately lead to the “high” that users experience when they smoke marijuana.  Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors; others have few or none.  The highest density of cannabinoid receptors are found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thinking, concentrating, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement.

Marijuana’s “high” can affect these functions in a variety of ways, causing distorted perceptions, impairing coordination, causing difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and creating problems with learning and memory.  Research has demonstrated that among chronic heavy users these effects on memory can last at least seven days after discontinuing use of the drug.

These aren’t the only problems connected to marijuana use.  Research tells us that chronic marijuana use mayincrease the risk of schizophrenia in vulnerable individuals, and high doses of the drug can produce acute psychotic reactions.  Researchers have also found that adolescents’ long-term use of marijuana may be linked with lower IQ(as much as an 8 point drop) later in life.

We also know that marijuana affects heart and respiratory functions.  In fact, one study found that marijuana users have a nearly five-fold increase in the risk of heart attack in the first hour after smoking the drug.  A study of 452 marijuana smokers (but who did not smoke tobacco) and 450 non-smokers (of either marijuana or tobacco) found that people who smoke marijuana frequently but do not smoke tobacco have more health problems, including respiratory illnesses, than nonsmoker. ~This is completely untrue. 21st century methods including pill form, edibles, vaporizing…all much safer!~ This is all very, very dated information!

All that stated, a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that low levels of marijuana use (with no tobacco use) produced no detrimental effect in lung function among study participants.  In fact, exposure led to a mild, but not clinically significant, beneficial effect—albeit among those who smoked only one joint per day.  While these findings have received wide attention from the media and from advocates of marijuana legalization, it is important to consider them in the context of the extensive body of research indicating that smoking marijuana is harmful to health.  Additionally, while the study did not include a sufficient number of heavy users of marijuana to confirm a detrimental effect of such use on pulmonary function, the findings suggest this possibility.

The harms of marijuana use can also manifest in users’ quality of life.  In one study, heavy marijuana users reported that the drug impaired several important measures of health and quality of life, including physical and mental health, cognitive abilities, social life, and career status.

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States.  In 2011 alone, more than 18 million Americans age 12 and older reported using the drug within the past month.  Approximately 4.2 million people met the diagnostic criteria for abuse of or dependence on this drug.  This is more than pain relievers, cocaine, tranquilizers, hallucinogens, and heroin combined.

There are very real consequences associated with marijuana use.  In 2010, marijuana was involved in more than461,000 emergency department visits nationwide.  This is nearly 39 percent of all emergency department visits involving illicit drugs, and highlights the very real dangers than can accompany use of the drug.

And in 2011, approximately 872,000 Americans 12 or older reported receiving treatment for marijuana use, more than any other illicit drug.  Despite some viewpoints that marijuana is harmless, these figures present a sobering picture of this drug’s very real and serious harms.

Marijuana places a significant strain on our health care system, and poses considerable danger to the health and safety of the users themselves, their families, and our communities.  Marijuana presents a major challenge for health care providers, public safety professionals, and leaders in communities and all levels of government seeking to reduce the drug use and its consequences throughout the country. ~courtesy of: http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/frequently-asked-questions-and-facts-about-marijuana#harmless

Although alcohol, prescription drugs, alcohol and tobacco are not as serious because they are legal? Just because Tobacco is legal are there more people smoking? Actually the numbers have declined drastically…this is due to EDUCATION, which in my state of Kansas, drug programs are not affordable to the government due to the costs of running prisons and such! INSANITY!

Freedom…Isn’t that what we all crave? Should we have to crave freedom over our own bodies in America? It IS the 21st century! Republicans need to understand that. The new generations aren’t interested in their bullshit!