Pubdate: Sun, 19 Dec 2004 Source: Columbia Daily Tribune (MO) Copyright: 2004 Columbia Daily Tribune Contact: http://www.columbiatribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/91 Cited: AARP http://www.aarp.org Cited: AARP magazine http://www.aarpmagazine.org Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/AARP MOST OLDER AMERICANS SUPPORT MEDICAL POT WASHINGTON (AP) - Nearly three-fourths of older Americans support legalizing marijuana for medical use, according to a poll done for the nation's largest advocacy group for seniors. More than half of those questioned said they believe marijuana has medical benefits, although a larger majority agreed the drug is addictive. AARP, with 35 million members, says that it has no political position on medical marijuana and that its local branches have not chosen sides in the scores of state ballot initiatives on the issue in recent elections. But with medical marijuana at the center of a U.S. Supreme Court case to be decided next year and nearly a dozen states with medical marijuana laws on their books, AARP decided to study the issue. "The use of medical marijuana applies to many older Americans who may benefit from cannabis," said Ed Dwyer, an editor at AARP The Magazine, which will discuss medical marijuana in its March/April issue appearing in late January. Among the 1,706 adults polled in AARP's random telephone survey in November, opinions varied along regional and generational lines and among the 30 percent of respondents who said they have smoked pot. Overall, 72 percent of respondents agreed "adults should be allowed to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if a physician recommends it." Those in the Northeast 79 percent and West 82 percent were more receptive to the idea than those in the Midwest 67 percent and Southwest 65 percent. In Southern states, 70 percent agreed with the statement. Though 69 percent of those age 70 and older said they support legal medical marijuana use, less than half agreed it has medical benefits. Seventy percent of respondents ages 45 to 49 said they believe in the medical benefits of pot, as did 59 percent of those in the 50-69 age group. And although 74 percent of all people surveyed said pot is addictive, older respondents were more likely to think so: 83 percent of those age 70 and older, compared with 61 percent of those ages 45 to 49. National polls in recent years have found majority support for allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake