News
Wednesday, January 22,2014 • page 11
Public Policy Polling shows growing support for medical marijuana
Stephanie Lamm
Assistant News Editor
New polling numbers show North
Carolinians are changing their minds on the
dangers of marijuana, opening the door for
new medical marijuana legislation in 2014.
In hght of legalization in Colorado and
New York, Gov. Cuomo’s plan to legalize
medical cannabis, attitudes towards mari
juana are changing. Public PoUcy Polling,
a North Carolina-based polling company,
released a study earlier this month that
found 63 percent of North Carolinians
believe doctors should be allowed to pre
scribe marijuana for medical use. This is
percentage is up from 58 percent last year.
The study also found that 53 percent of
North Carolinians believe alcohol is more
dangerous than marijuana, and 42 percent
believe marijuana should be legalized.
“When you look at the national trends, the
number of people supporting legalization is
growing. It’s now up to 55 percent nation
ally. I just don’t see anything happening
that could decrease those numbers,” said
Jon Kennedy, secretary at N.C. NORML,
the National Organization for the Reform
of Marijuana Laws.
The National Cancer Institute recognizes
marijuana’s antitumor properties, citing five
recent studies involving different types of
cancer in mice and rats, but no clinical trials
have been conducted. Marijuana has a bad
reputation as a gateway dmg, but research
by the Drug Policy Alliance found this per
ception to be false.
In a documentary last year, Sanjay Gupta,
medical correspondent for CNN, said, “It is
irresponsible not to provide the best care we
can as a medical community, care that could
involve marijuana.”
The FDA approved the active ingredi
ent in cannabis, THC, for medical use.
However, marijuana is classified as a sched
ule 1 controlled substance, meaning it is
addictive and does not possess any medici
nal qualities. Given recent research to the
contrary, this classification may need to be
revisited.
Even President Barrack Obama has spo
ken out on the issue, saying he does not
believe marijuana is more dangerous than
alcohol.
“My family friend [who holds a medical
license in California] believes that medical
marijuana is a healthier alternative to tra
ditional and more addictive painkillers Uke
OxyContin and Vicodin following surger
ies,” said Elon University freshman Dylan
Rock. “It’s an added bonus that it helps with
nausea instead of taking multiple drugs,
which often have damaging side effects.”
In a statement last December, U.S. Rep.
Walter Jones, R - N.C., said, “I encourage
our state elected officials to give this issue
the attention it deserves by consulting with
medical professionals to determine the effi
cacy of the safe use of CBD [cannabidiol, a
cannabinoid used in medical marijuana] in
liquid form for young patients that have no
other medical options.”
N.C. NORML and Rep. Kelly Alexander
plan to meet in the coming months to draft
medical marijuana legislation.
Kennedy believes education is the key to
passing medical marijuana legislation in
2014. N.C. NORML is planning to launch
an educational campaign using billboards,
social media and legislative packets to show
that marijuana has medicinal qualities, is
not addictive and is safer than alcohol.
“I like to think people are reasonable, and
I believe that as more facts come out about
marijuana that show it isn’t toxic, it isn’t
dangerous and, in fact, it is medicine, the
conservatives will have to see that they’re
on the wrong side of history. The statistics
are overwhelmingly in our favor,” Kennedy
said.
Last year, N.C. NORML and Rep.
Alexander teamed up to write House Bill
84, a bill to set up, tax and regulate medical
cannabis dispensaries within the state.
Groups like N.C. NORML, N.C. Medical
Cannabis and N.C. Cannabis Patients
Network mobilized their resources to sup
port the biU.
Kennedy said Alexader “told [the bill’s
supporters] that the best way to earn the
General Assembly’s support for the biU was
to show public interest. We held legislative
days, we got people to call their representa
tives and write letters.”
Rep. Alexander warned that if HB 84 went
into the Rules Committee, the bill would
enter a “black hole.” After just 20 minutes of
discussion in the House Rules Committee, a
vote ruled the bill unfavorable.
Rep. Paul Stam, chairman of the House
Rules Committee said he and other legisla
tors felt “harassed” by the number of phone
calls and emails in regards to HB 84. Stam
ruled the bUl unfavorable in large part to
stop the public response.
Stam told WRAL, “we did it to be done
with it, so people could move on for the
session.”
“Tabling legislation because of public sup
port? That’s the opposite of how democracy
should work,” said Kennedy.
The 2014 proposal is sure to face an uphUl
battle, but supporters of medical marijuana
are confident legalization is inevitable. If
N.C. were to legalize, it would join 21 other
states with medical marijuana laws.
“Eventually aU states wiU legalize, but it’s
obviously difficult to say when,” Rock said.
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f-iM-
PHOTO COURTESY OF MCT CAMPUS
Recent polls show increased support among North Carolinians for the legalization of medical marijuana. In addition, 63% of North Carolinians believe doctors should be allowed to prescribe marijuana for medical use.