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Source: @norml @WeedConnection
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
media :: news
- Tue, 28 Apr 2015 04:20:21 PST

Pew Poll: Support For Legalization Is Rapidly Outpacing Opposition

Washington, DC: The majority of Americans say that the "use of marijuana should be legal," according to nationwide survey data published by the Pew Research Center.

Fifty-three percent of respondents support legalization. Forty-four percent of respondents oppose the idea and three percent are undecided. "Support for marijuana legalization is rapidly outpacing opposition," pollsters opined, acknowledging that Americans' support for legalizing marijuana has risen some 10 percentage points over the past five years. Pollsters further acknowledged that legalization supporters are more likely than opponents to say that they have changed their minds on the issue in recent years.

Millennials (68 percent) are most likely to support legalization while most of those age 70 or older do not (29 percent). Most Republicans (61 percent) and Hispanics (60 percent) also remain opposed to legalizing marijuana. Among those with some college education or a college degree, 58 percent support reforming marijuana policy.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents (62 percent) oppose the use of marijuana in public. By contrast, most respondents (57 percent) said that they would not be bothered if a "business selling marijuana" opened in their neighborhood.

In response to a separate question, 59 percent of those surveyed agreed that the government "should not enforce federal marijuana laws in states that allow [its] use." A majority of both Democrats and Republicans endorse this position.

The poll is the latest in a series of national surveys showing majority support for legalizing and regulating marijuana.


Study: Oral Cannabis Extracts Associated With Seizure Control In Children

Denver, CO: The administration of oral cannabis extracts is associated with the mitigation of seizures in adolescents with epilepsy, according to clinical data published this month in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior.

Researchers from the Colorado Children's Hospital in Denver performed a retrospective chart review of 75 children who had been provided with cannabis extracts. Authors reported that 57 percent of subjects showed some level of improvement in seizure control while 33 percent reported a greater than 50 percent reduction in seizure frequency.

Researchers also reported "improved behavior/alertness" in one-third of subjects and improved motor skills in ten percent of treated patients. Adverse events were reported in 44 percent of subjects, 13 percent of which reported increased seizure activity. Overall, however, authors concluded that the extracts were "well tolerated by children."

Separate clinical trial results publicized last week at the 67th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology reported that the administration of a proprietary form of CBD (cannabidiol) extracts decreased seizure frequency by 54 percent over a 12-week period in children with treatment-resistant epilepsy.

Survey data compiled by Stanford University in 2013 reported that the administration of cannabidiol-enriched cannabis decreased seizures in 16 of 19 patients with pediatric epilepsy.

Last February, the Epilepsy Foundation of America enacted a resolution in support of the "rights of patients and families living with seizures and epilepsy to access physician directed care, including medical marijuana."

Full text of the study, "Parental reporting of response to oral cannabis extracts for treatment of refractory epilepsy," appears in Epilepsy & Behavior.


New Mexico: Governor Vetoes Bill Allowing For Licensed Hemp Cultivation

Santa Fe, NM: Republican Gov. Susana Martinez has rejected legislation that sought to permit licensed farmers to grow industrial hemp in accordance with a state-sponsored research program.

Senate Bill 94 would have redefined industrial hemp as an agricultural commodity and allowed for its cultivation by licensed growers as part of a university-managed research program. The measure enjoyed significant bipartisan support among lawmakers - having been approved 54 to 12 in the House and 33 to 8 by members of the Senate.

Governor Martinez said that passage of the bill would "complicate the task of law enforcement" and contradicted federal law. However, last year members of Congress approved language in the omnibus federal Farm Bill explicitly authorizing states to sponsor hemp research absent federal reclassification of the plant. Twenty-three states have enacted legislation permitting hemp cultivation in a manner that is compliant with federal law.


Virginia: Majority Of Voters Back Legalization, Supermajority Endorse Marijuana For Medical Purposes

Richmond, VA: Nearly nine out of ten Virginians support legalizing the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes, and a majority support allowing adults to possess the plant for any reason, according to the results of a statewide Quinnipiac University poll of registered voters.

Fifty-four percent of voters support "allowing adults to legally possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use." Forty-one percent of respondents opposed the idea.

Seventy-five percent of voters age 18 to 34 support legalization, as do a majority of voters (59 percent) between the ages of 35 and 54. The majority of those over the age of 55 and most Republicans (57 percent) oppose regulating the plant's use.

By contrast, 86 percent of Virginia voters - including majorities in every demographic - support the physicians-supervised use of cannabis therapy.


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