MSNBC: Poll- nearly 2/3 of Americans support legalizing Marijuana

[Warren DeMontague]

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-news/watch/poll-nearly-2-3-of-americans-for-legal-marijuana-799360579893

[4lbs]

1. Three more states could legalize it in various forms in about a week.

I will especially be joyous if and when California passes Prop 64.

I have some product I want to smoke outside of my local police station when that Prop passes next week.

[Warren DeMontague]

2. If 64 is like Oregon's law, public use will still be prohibited.

What would happen in that specific situation, of course, probably depends on the temperature of the local cops. In Seattle, when legalization passed, cops handed out bags of doritos with cards explaining the new rules, and stuff like "yes, you can smoke marijuana and watch a Lord of the Rings marathon in your living room". There were people celebrating by lighting up at the Space Needle, and the cops ignored it. But now they will ticket for open public use again.

In Portland the Police Dept. tweeted encouraging people to patronize legal cannabis businesses. So not all police depts. are reflexively opposed to this.

[TonyPDX]

3. A clear majority are willing, but Reefer Madness-era myths about cannabis endure.

It's up to each of us to dispel the misinformation about this useful herb held by our families and neighbors. Studies like this recent one demonstrate the importance of funding more rigorous research into potential benefits.

People who haven't gotten it by now are hard core hold-outs. It's a fact that my own unsophisticated and older relatives to this day regard cannabis as "dope" and consumers as "addicts." They bought Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" and remain very resistant to discoveries that prove they've been wrong. Worse, people like my relatives take what they believe is a moral stand to justify their misinformed position, and folks who think they've got God on their side can be very obstructive. We have to do the difficult work of persuading them that the honest facts are not what they have believed for so long. Eventually they'll age-out of the equation, but if we share the truth, I believe acceptance can come sooner.

[Warren DeMontague]

4. You hit the nail right on the head.