Gallup Poll: Support for Legalization on the Rise

By Ron Crumpton

According to a new Gallup Poll, more Americans now support the legalization of marijuana than ever before.

The results of Gallup’s annual crime polls show that 46 percent of Americans now support the legalization of marijuana. This equates to a rise of 15 percent over the last 10 years. If the current trend continues, the majority of Americans will be in support of the outright legalization of marijuana by 2013.

The poll shows that liberals are by far the largest group with 72 percent in favor of legalization. The majority of young people (18- to 29-year-olds, 61%), Democrats (55%), independents (54%), political moderates (51%) and Men (51%) support legalization. On the other hand, Republicans (29%) are the least supportive followed by conservatives (30%), older Americans (over 65, 32%), southerners (40%) and women (41%).

In a separate question, Gallup found that 70 percent of Americans support the use of medical marijuana, but unlike the numbers for legalization, that number is falling.

In 2005, 75 percent of Americans supported medical marijuana. Most experts, including the one writing this, believe that the fall in support for medical marijuana can be attributed to those who once supported it, but have now bought in to the back door to legalization propaganda.

Colorado Favors Marijuana Legalization but That Could Change

By Ron Crumpton

Polling by SurveyUSA has found that likely voters in Colorado support the complete legalization of marijuana in their state; the poll, which was conducted from October 19-21, shows that 46 percent favored legalization, 43 percent opposed legalization and 11 percent were undecided.

Due to a lack of excitement on the part of Democrats, the models used were heavily skewed toward older voters that are more conservative. Historically, this group is more apt to oppose legalization than most other groups.

If this poll had been conducted during a presidential election year, the results would likely favor legalization by an even greater margin. The turnout among younger voters, who are typically more likely to support legalization, is much higher during the presidential elections than they are in midterm elections. Therefore, if the poll had used the models for the larger elections it would have favored legalization by an even greater margin.

Since Colorado’s constitution allows voter initiatives, legalization will probably be put before voters in the 2012 elections.

While most people believe that passage of Proposition 19, in California, would improve the chance of passing a referendum, that may not be the case.

The reaction by Attorney General Eric Holder and the DEA to legalization in California could be a major factor in future support. If the Department of Justice, Los Angeles Sheriff’s department and the Los Angeles District Attorney follow through on threats to “vigorously prosecute federal marijuana laws in California,” the polling numbers could take a nosedive.

Unfortunately, unless President Obama decides to support the rights of California voters, they can be expected to do exactly that.

They realize that unopposed legalization in California would essentially be the end to the war on marijuana. A successful legal marijuana state would reduce the fear involved in passing similar laws in other states, and would force a more reasoned response to legalization on a national level.

Stupid Files: Man Calls Police to Check “Nasty Marijuana”

By Ron Crumpton

Believing that he had been sold bad marijuana, a Uniontown, Pennsylvania man promptly called the police to investigate.

Now, just about all marijuana smokers, at one time or another, have purchased a bag of bunk, but when they do, they generally take the loss and chalk it up to experience. However, that is not always the case.

On Wednesday, an unidentified 21-year-old man stunned a Fayette County 911 dispatcher when he called to report that he had purchased some questionable marijuana.

Upon arriving at the Millview Street residence, officers noticed a leafy green substance lying on the couch. The young man said that he had just purchased the marijuana, but when he smoked it, it tasted nasty.

                                                  

According to Detective Donald Gmitter, a field test showed that the substance was not marijuana, or any other controlled substance.

"We have received calls in the past that have astounded us,” Gmitter said. “We have had calls before of people giving money to prostitutes for services. When the prostitute ran off, they wanted to report a robbery or theft. They thought was legitimate."

To add insult to injury, not only did the guy get ripped-off on his marijuana purchase. According to Sgt. Wayne Brown, the man was charged with possession of a counterfeit substance.

You cannot blame this entry into the Stupid Files on marijuana because apparently the dude did not have any. He must come by his stupidity… naturally.

Moms Say Marijuana Okay, Punitive Policies No Way

By Ron Crumpton

Of the many war cries used by advocates in their quest to legalize marijuana, perhaps the strangest of these is “do it for the children.”

However, if you attended the Press Conference held in California by members of the Women’s Marijuana Party, then that is exactly what you heard.

According to attorney and mother of two Hanna Dershowitz, it might be counterintuitive.

“I have the conversation [with my kids] every day about how much sugar is appropriate,” said Dershowitz. “The right thing is to have a reasonable conversation in the context of controlled, regulated marijuana.”

Gretchen Burns Bergman

The group had many reasons for their support of the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, but perhaps the most compelling of those came from substance abuse counselor and Executive Director and Co-Founder of A New PATH Gretchen Burns Bergman.

In 1990, her oldest son, now in his thirties, was arrested for marijuana possession. She said that the initial arrest of her son led to a decade of cycling in and out of the prison system for non-violent, low-level drug possession charges.

This experience gave her a unique understanding of how the justice system in America treats marijuana users. Bergman said that a mother never stops advocating for her children, and that is why she is advocating for a change in California’s drug laws.

“Mothers are leading the charge, just as during the 30s,” she said. “Not because we love drugs and alcohol, but because we love our children and we cannot stand the costs of our punitive policies.”

EDITORIAL: D.A.R.E. to Protect Your Kids from Our Government

By Ron Crumpton

A fifth grader in Matthews, North Carolina turns in his parents to police officers after hearing Lesson About Marijuana from officers of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program (D.A.R.E.).

With an annual cost of $1 to $1.3 billion DARE, is suppose to educate children about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, has been a desperately unsuccessful program. The General Accounting Office (GAO) has found that there is no significant difference in the illicit drug use between kids who participated in DARE and those who did not, and in 2001, the U.S. Surgeon General placed it on the list of “Ineffective Programs.”

The only effectual reason that DARE has to remain in operation is that it teaches young people to turn their parents in to authorities for smoking a joint.

This  is what someone might expect to deal with in a totalitarian regime, but it is hardly what one would expect in, what is suppose to be, a free society.

What kind of government do we have when we teach children that people should go to jail for a victimless crime, and it is their responsibility to turn these dastardly villains over to the police, even if it is their own parents.

Even the government says that this program does not work, but we continue to arrest the parents and destroy the family bond. Not to mention the psychological damage to these small children when they grow up and realize the destruction that was caused to their lives and the lives of their parents happened because they did what police officers asked them to do.

It is a terrible thing when you have to call on parents and ask them to reeducate their children from the propaganda and hate that our government uses against them.

However, that is what we have to do.

Parents have to stay in communication about what their children are being taught in school, and they need to know who it is that is teaching them. Parents have to take steps to find out what is going on when their children tell them something questionable, and parents need to stand up to authority and speak when they feel that the government is leading their children down the wrong path.

Some people might say that the parents were dopers and deserved to go to jail, but what happens when the IRS gets your children to turn you in because you fudged a little on your taxes, or the highway patrol gets junior to rat you out for speeding?

Where does this stupidity end, and how much damage will be inflicted on the American family before it ends?

Stupid Files: Man Mails Package of Marijuana Includes Return Address

By Ron Crumpton

 

PORT HOPE, Ontario – Members of the Port Hope Police Department seized a package containing about two ounces of marijuana from the Port Hope Post Office.

The package was addressed to an Alberta post office box on the front and had a Sanders drive return address, which the police used to obtain a search warrant. The resulting search found approximately four pounds of marijuana.

While marijuana should not be against the law, it is. Therefore, if you plan to commit a crime by sending marijuana through the mail, the wisest course of action would not be to give police an obvious means of connecting you to the crime.

"There is a reason why it's called 'dope'. Not all criminals are intelligent and this certainly was a way to transfer it but (he) obviously got caught because he wasn't that hard to find," said Port Hope Police Sgt. Bryant Wood

Police are holding a 48-year-old Port Hope man. He is facing charges for trafficking and possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Authorities have not yet released the man’s name, considering the circumstances surrounding his arrest; he should greatly appreciate their silence.

Clinton Era Surgeon General Supports Legalization

By Ron Crumpton

Clinton era Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders said on Sunday that Marijuana should be legalized.

"What I think is horrible about all of this, is that we criminalize young people. And we use so many of our excellent resources ... for things that aren't really causing any problems," declared Elders. "It's not a toxic substance."

Former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders

She continued by stating that in her medical opinion, “marijuana is not addictive.” Unlike cigarettes, which Dr. Elders called the most addictive substance on the planet; marijuana does not cause physical addiction.

The doctor then compared marijuana to alcohol saying that while alcohol causes the user to have violent tendencies, marijuana does not generate the urge to commit violence.

Elders has already voiced her support for Proposition 19. In July, she issued a statement to be published in a voter guide; Dr. Elders said the legalization bill would help divert law enforcement resources to more serious threats. “We can let police prevent violent crime, or we can accept the status quo, and keep wasting resources sending tens of thousands of nonviolent marijuana consumers — a disproportionate number who are minorities — to jail.”

It is not a surprise that Dr. Elders supports legalization; she has always been quick to voice her opinion about the status quo and hypocrisy in politics. In 1994, she was forced to resign from her position as Surgeon General because of her comments in support of the legalization of drugs, gay rights and the passing out condoms in schools.