Newsbrief:
Senior
Citizens
Support
Medical
Marijuana,
AARP
Poll
Finds
12/24/04
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/368/aarp.shtml
Nearly three out of four
older Americans support legalizing the medicinal use of marijuana, a poll
conducted for the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has found.
The poll, conducted in mid-November for the nation's largest group representing
senior citizens, surveyed 1,706 people aged 45 or older.
Overall, 72% of respondents
agreed that "adults should be allowed to legally use marijuana for medical
purposes if a physician recommends it." Support was highest in the West
(82%) and Northeast (79%) and lowest in the Midwest (67%) and Southwest
(65%). In the South, 70% agreed with the statement.
The poll asked if respondents
thought marijuana had medical uses, and oddly enough, many seniors who
said they didn't think it had medical uses supported it anyway. Less than
half of those over 70 agreed marijuana had medical benefits, but 69% of
that group wanted it legalized for medical purposes. Younger respondents
were more likely to think marijuana has medical benefits, with some 70%
of 45-49-year-olds agreeing that it does.
Personal use histories and
attitudes toward marijuana's addictiveness were also age-related, the poll
suggested. Among those over 70, only 8% had smoked pot, compared with 58%
of the forty-somethings, 37% of the fifty-somethings, and 15% of the sixty-somethings.
Similarly, the older respondents were, the more likely they were to believe
that marijuana is addictive. While overall, 74% thought the weed could
enslave you, that number was 83% among those over 70 and only 61% among
the forty-somethings.
The AARP poll results are
well in line with other surveys of support for medical marijuana, which
consistently show well above majority support and often range into the
higher than 80% bracket. While the AARP takes no position on the issue,
it will examine it in the March-April issue of the AARP magazine, which
will appear in late January.
The AARP has 35 million members.
"The use of medical marijuana applies to many older Americans who may benefit
from cannabis," said AARP magazine editor Ed Dwyer in a press statement.
-- END --
Issue #368
-- 12/24/04
Editorial:
Jury
Manipulation
|
Conflict
Over
Pain
Management
Heats
Up
as
Mainstream
Medical
Groups
Wake
Up
|
In
Run-Up
to
New
European
Union
Drug
Strategy,
European
Parliament
Adopts
Report
Critical
of
Continued
Drug
War
|
Young
Reformers
Give
Drug
Czar
Hard
Time
at
Monitoring
the
Future
Press
Conference
|
DRCNet
Book
Review:
Under
The
Influence:
The
Disinformation
Guide
to
Drugs,
Edited
by
Preston
Peet
(The
Disinformation
Company
Ltd.,
2004,
312
pages,
$24.95)
|
Legalization
Talk
|
Newsbrief:
Senior
Citizens
Support
Medical
Marijuana,
AARP
Poll
Finds
|
Newsbrief:
This
Week's
Corrupt
Cops
Stories
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Newsbrief:
From
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Prison,
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Stewart
Calls
for
Sentencing
Reform
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Newsbrief:
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Law
Could
Hamper
Hemp
in
South
Africa
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Newsbrief:
Dutch
Open
First
Retirement
Home
for
Junkies
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Newsbrief:
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High
Court
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Newsbrief:
Intelligence
Bill
Yields
New
Federal
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Fighter
Position
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Newsbrief:
First
Cannabis-Based
Prescription
Drug
Wins
Preliminary
Approval
in
Canada
|
Newsbrief:
Canadian
Study
to
Examine
Safety
of
Medical
Marijuana
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Newsbrief:
Illinois
Nurses
Join
Growing
List
of
Nursing
Groups
Supporting
Medical
Marijuana
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Media
Scan:
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on
Pain,
Cockburn
on
Webb,
Grits
for
Breakfast,
Faith
Under
Fire,
BJS
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This
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in
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