Source: @norml @WeedConnection
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
media :: news - Sun, 16 Mar 2014 04:20:21 PST
Poll: Americans View Pot As Less Harmful To Health Than Tobacco, Alcohol, Or Sugar
New York, NY: Americans believe that consuming cannabis poses less harm to health than does the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, or sugar, according to the findings of a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Wednesday.
Respondents were asked which of the four substances they believed to be "most harmful to a person's overall health." Most respondents said tobacco (49 percent), followed by alcohol (24 percent) and sugar (15 percent).
Only eight percent of those surveyed said that they believed that marijuana was most harmful to health.
The poll possesses a margin of error of +/- 3.10 percent.
Commenting on the poll results, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: "These results once again reaffirm that an overwhelming majority of the American public understands that any potential risks associated with the use or abuse of cannabis are relatively minor to those associated with many other legal and regulated substances. Criminalizing cannabis and those who consume it responsibly is a disproportionate public policy response to what is, at worst, a public health issue but not a criminal justice concern."
Under federal law, marijuana is classified as a schedule I controlled substance, meaning that its alleged harms are equal to those of heroin.
Colorado: First Month Of Legal Marijuana Sales Yields $3.5 Million In Taxes And Fees
Denver, CO: Retail sales of cannabis in the month of January yielded an estimated $3.5 million dollars in state tax revenues, according to financial data released online this week by the Colorado Department of Revenue.
Under Colorado law, commercial cannabis producers must pay a 15 percent excise tax, while retail customers must pay an additional ten percent sales tax (on top of the state's existing 2.9 percent sales tax) on any cannabis purchased at a licensed facility. Voters approved the imposition of cannabis-specific taxes (Proposition AA) this past November.
For the month, customers spent an estimated $14 million on the purchase of marijuana and cannabis-infused goods at state-licensed facilities. This figure is anticipated to grow larger as more and more facilities become operational.
State law authorized the retail sale of cannabis beginning on January 1st to those age 21 or older. At that time, only 24 retailers were operational. By month's end, nearly 60 facilities were up and running. Presently, over 150 licensed facilities are operational.
Similarly licensed retail operations are anticipated to be operational in Washington by this summer.
Maryland: Most Say Regulations On Recreational Marijuana Should Be No More Strict Than Those For Booze
Baltimore, MD: Fifty-seven percent of Maryland citizens believe that regulations overseeing the use and sale of cannabis should be not be stricter than those regulations presently governing alcohol, according to a statewide Goucher poll released on Wednesday.
Only 25 percent of respondents said that regulations for marijuana ought to be "more strict" than those for alcohol. Sixteen percent of respondents said that rules governing cannabis should be less strict.
Just over 50 percent of Marylanders said that they support "making the use of marijuana legal" versus 39 percent of respondents who oppose the idea.
Respondents were more supportive of the notion of legalizing cannabis for therapeutic purposes, which was backed by 90 percent of those surveyed.
Last year, Maryland lawmakers enacted legislation seeking to allow medical marijuana be dispensed at teaching hospitals. To date, however, no hospitals have volunteered to participate in the program and two of the state's largest institutions have said they will not have any involvement in the proposed system.
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