DankCloset
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When there is a big gap between the views of ordinary Americans on a public issue and the voting record of their elected representatives in Congress, something is wrong.
In the national debate over the use of marijuana for medical purposes, the people and their representatives in Congress seem to be living on different planets. In New Jersey, however, the gap has been closed, or nearly so.
Poll after poll shows Americans, by a huge majority, want doctors, not lawmakers, to decide whether marijuana should be used as medicine. Today, however, federal laws prohibit physicians from prescribing marijuana for pain relief even where state and local laws say it is OK to do so. This has not always been the case.
"For most of American history, growing and using marijuana was legal under both federal law and the laws of individual states," according to a recent report by the Congressional Research Service, an arm of Congress.
In 1999, a Gallup poll asked, "Suppose that on election day this year you could vote on key issues as well as candidates. Please tell me, would you vote for or against making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering?"
Response: 73 percent of the American people said they would vote for making marijuana legally available under those conditions.
In 2003 and 2005, Gallup polls asked, "Would you favor or oppose making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering?" In 2003, 75 percent and in 2005, 78 percent of the people said they would favor giving doctors the legal right to decide when marijuana should be prescribed to ease suffering.
News Hawk: DankCloset -420 Magazine
Source: Asbury Park Press (NJ)
Author: Ronald Fraser
Published: May 17, 2006
Copyright: 2006 Asbury Park Press
In the national debate over the use of marijuana for medical purposes, the people and their representatives in Congress seem to be living on different planets. In New Jersey, however, the gap has been closed, or nearly so.
Poll after poll shows Americans, by a huge majority, want doctors, not lawmakers, to decide whether marijuana should be used as medicine. Today, however, federal laws prohibit physicians from prescribing marijuana for pain relief even where state and local laws say it is OK to do so. This has not always been the case.
"For most of American history, growing and using marijuana was legal under both federal law and the laws of individual states," according to a recent report by the Congressional Research Service, an arm of Congress.
In 1999, a Gallup poll asked, "Suppose that on election day this year you could vote on key issues as well as candidates. Please tell me, would you vote for or against making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering?"
Response: 73 percent of the American people said they would vote for making marijuana legally available under those conditions.
In 2003 and 2005, Gallup polls asked, "Would you favor or oppose making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering?" In 2003, 75 percent and in 2005, 78 percent of the people said they would favor giving doctors the legal right to decide when marijuana should be prescribed to ease suffering.
News Hawk: DankCloset -420 Magazine
Source: Asbury Park Press (NJ)
Author: Ronald Fraser
Published: May 17, 2006
Copyright: 2006 Asbury Park Press
