Support for legalizing Marijuana hits all-time high

50 percent of Americans favor the legalization of marijuana, up from 46 percent last year, according to a new Gallup poll.

It was the first time in the survey that the number of people favoring legalization was higher than those opposed.

The support for legalized marijuana use has continued to climb since Gallup first began asking questions about it in 1969. Then, only 12 percent of Americans supported legalization, with 84 percent opposed.

Throughout the late 1970s into the 1990s support for legalization of marijuana remained in the mid 20-percent range, with it passing 30 percent in 2000 and 40 percent in 2009.
The latest poll shows that support for legalized pot is highest in the West (55 percent), among liberals (69 percent), younger Americans (62 percent), and men (55 percent).

Dr. Christopher Glenn Fichtner, author of "Cannibanomics,'" appeared Monday on The Dylan Ratigan show, where he spoke about the potential benefits of legalizing marijuana. He endorsed the California Medical Association’s decision last week to call for legalization of the drug, but with regulations similar to alcohol and tobacco.

"There are numerous products on the market that have risk," Fichtner said, citing alcohol as one example.

"It’s very hard to argue on a medical basis that herbal cannabis or marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol," he said. "The idea is that regulation offers the opportunity to improve the safety and reliability of access to specific products."

He also blames marijuana prohibition for "playing a major role in the initial criminalization, the initiation into the criminal justice system for a very large number of ordinary American citizens."

The Gallup survey was based on telephone interviews conducted Oct. 6-9, 2011, with a random sample of 1,005 adults.

Marijuana is the most commonly abused illegal drug in the United States, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. A 2009 federal survey on drug use found that 16.7 million Americans aged 12 or older had used marijuana at least once in the month prior to being surveyed, an increase over the rates reported in all years between 2002 and 2008.

Pot is legal for people with doctors’ recommendations in 16 states, though it remains illegal under federal law. Last week, the federal government vowed to crack down on dispensaries selling marijuana in California, where thousands of outlets have sprung up.

A Gallup survey last year showed that 70 percent of Americans favored making it legal for doctors to prescribe marijuana in order to reduce pain and suffering.

(Source)

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City Of Monterey May Allow Medical Marijuana Collective

The City of Monterey may be the first on the Monterey Peninsula to allow a medicinal cannabis collective / medical marijuana dispensary to operate openly.

All this while the city sued MyCaregiver and Carr-Nshimba in February 2010, arguing the operation violated the city's zoning laws because it does not specifically accommodate medical marijuana facilities.

Attorney Richard Rosen, who represents MyCaregiver co-founder Jhonrico Carr-Nshimba, said the city brought the contempt action "based on small technicalities about zoning and business licenses. It is completely ignoring the big issue, which is why is it legal everywhere else in California except Monterey?"

Rosen contends MyCaregiver qualifies as a nonprofit, medical marijuana cooperative and thus does not require a business license. An appeal of Villarreal's ruling is pending.
... "How does the city get away with ignoring the law that applies to everyone else in California?" Rosen said.

Monterey Bud on Hansen Organics Tinctures

Good Tuesday Morning 420 world... What a great night’s sleep, which is fairly unusual for me. I have been conversing with Holly at Hansen Organics for the last couple of weeks; we meet on Facebook and had been discussing medical marijuana and the different applications that were available.

Through this conversation I had mentioned that I use tinctures during the day at work as a way of medicating without the scrutiny. Holly was kind enough to send me some samples to try (after they were able to verify my medical marijuana recommendation).

Have a question? Contact Holly @ Hansen Organics also on Facebook.

Countless medical marijuana patients are in high spirits to learn of cannabis tinctures. A tincture is an alcohol-based liquid mixture. It is like a concentrated extract. At present there are tinctures of cannabis made with alcohol, oil or glycerin. It is a very effective way to medicate. Drops of the tincture are placed under the tongue (sublingually) and the medication passes through the blood vessels and enters the bloodstream. You will feel the onset of effects in about 5 – 15 minutes with the peak effect at about 30 minutes after taking the medication. For many patients, the effects are similar to inhaled cannabis.

The benefits of using a tincture of cannabis:

* no irritating smoke
* it is fast-acting
* no equipment except the bottle and the eyedropper
* no smell
* can be used discreetly.