Pubdate: Sat, 11 Aug 2007
Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (NY)
Copyright: 2007 Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Contact:  http://www.democratandchronicle.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/614
Author: Cara Matthews, Albany bureau
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project http://www.mpp.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

GROUP PUSHES MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA

Advocates Say Polls Show Support Among GOP, Conservative Voters

ALBANY -- After a bill to legalize medical use of marijuana passed 
the Democrat-controlled Assembly but not the GOP-led Senate this 
year, a national group is releasing polls showing that Conservative 
Party members and voters in several Republican senators' districts 
would favor the practice.

Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project said the organization 
succeeded in dispelling a common belief that right-wing voters are 
against medical use of marijuana.

"Your voters aren't going to want to come and get you for wanting to 
keep cancer patients out of jail," Mirken said.

Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of Washington, D.C., found that 
61 percent to 76 percent of 500 voters surveyed in each of six GOP 
Senate districts -- including that of Dale Volker, R-Depew, Erie 
County -- said they favor "allowing seriously and terminally ill 
patients to use and grow a limited amount of medical marijuana if 
their doctors recommend it." A survey of 500 Conservative Party 
voters found that 55 percent agreed.

Independent polls have also shown widespread support. A Gallup Poll 
in 2005 found that 78 percent of Americans favored allowing doctors 
to prescribe marijuana as a pain remedy.

The Conservative Party doesn't create its policies through polls, 
Chairman Mike Long responded.  Conservatives are against medical use 
of marijuana because it "opens a Pandora's box. We think there's no 
control on who's using it, who may be selling it."

Beyond that, he said, there is enough medicine on the market to make 
sick people comfortable, and use of marijuana is against federal law.

Mirken said there is enough of a track record in states that have 
grow-your-own provisions to show that the programs work.

Twelve states allow patients to use pot, which has been found to 
relieve nausea, increase appetite, reduce muscle spasms, alleviate 
chronic pain and reduce intraocular (within the eye) pressure. It is 
used for such serious conditions as AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis 
and glaucoma.

Not all studies about marijuana use have been positive.  Researchers 
from the United Kingdom recently released data showing that youths 
who smoke pot could be increasing the likelihood of developing a 
psychotic illness later in life by 40 percent.

There is support in the GOP-led Senate for limited pot use by 
allowing state-regulated growers to produce it and registered 
dispensaries to distribute it. The Democrat-dominated Assembly said 
that could lead to raids by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. Its 
bill would allow patients to have up to 2.5 ounces and 12 plants.

Craig Miller, a spokesman for Volker, said there would have to be 
oversight by medical professionals. "We can't just have folks growing 
their own in their back yard with no oversight, and then have the 
possibility of using that marijuana for purposes other than medical 
needs," he said.

There also are proposals to make medical marijuana legal for patients 
in Illinois, Minnesota and New Hampshire, according to the Marijuana 
Policy Project, which also promotes pot legalization.

Last month, the federal government shut down several drug 
dispensaries in California, where medical marijuana is legal. The 
proprietors were accused of selling large quantities of marijuana, 
including to minors, for big profits. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake