Community | September 21, 2008 | 3 comments

Massachusetts: Three Out Of Four Voters Favor Marijuana

source: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7688

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Boston, MA: Nearly three out of four Massachusetts voters support a statewide ballot initiative that seeks to decriminalize the possession and use of small amounts of cannabis by persons age 18 or older, according to a Channel 7 News/Suffolk University poll of 400 registered voters.

Seventy-one percent of respondents said that they would vote "yes" on the November ballot measure, which would replace criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana with a civil fine of no more than $100. Only 22 percent of respondents opposed the proposal.

Among respondents over 65 years of age, 70 percent said they backed decriminalization.

The strong poll numbers indicate that the measure "is all but certain" to pass in November, the poll's authors declared in a press release.

If voters approve the measure this fall, Massachusetts would be the first state to enact the decriminalization of marijuana since Nevada's legislature did so in 2001 and the first to do so by voter initiative.

Currently, twelve states have enacted versions of marijuana decriminalization -replacing criminal sanctions with fine-only penalties for minor pot violators.

Michigan voters will also decide on a separate statewide initiative this November that seeks to legalize the medical use of cannabis for qualified patients. If enacted, Michigan will become the thirteenth state since 1996 to authorize the legal use of medical cannabis, and the ninth state to do so by voter initiative.

For more information, please contact NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre at (202) 483-5500, or visit the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy.
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3 comments // Massachusetts: Three Out Of Four Voters Favor Marijuana

  • simplecj
  • simplecj
    • 0
      simplecj  

    • Yes, legalize it already!!

      Did you know that the DEA was legally obligated to reschedule cannabis from a schedule 1 to a schedule 2 substance back in 1996 when California passed it's first acceptable medicinal marijuana law!!

      Yet they continue to ignore the fact that there are many states now who have officially recognized the medicinal value of marijuana, which by law should automatically reschedule it to reflect reality. Why do they continue their ignorance???

      Why have they been allowed, for 12 years now, to illegally disrupt the state approved medicinal marijuana outlets, confiscating hundreds of thousands if not into the millions of dollars worth of state-legal merchandise along with irreplaceable patient records... most of the raids happening in California have left the shops completely stripped of everything along with additional damage to the property. They have been threatening the doctors who are simply complying with state law, infringing on the rights of those doctors to render effective care to their patients. They have also been arresting those who run these state run shops ALL because they refuse to recognize the completely constitutional right of the states to accept that there is ample evidence of the safe and effective medicinal use of marijuana.

      Government thugs need to be put in their place!!! We need to legalize it on the federal level!!

    • 3 years ago
  • torybart
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