Twitter Says Yes to Marijuana Legalization Question
Author: UberDragon | Filed under: Blog, Twitter
A “twtpoll” has been circulating Twitter the last month asking tweeters, “Do You Support the Legalization of Marijuana in the United States?”, the poll is now in it’s final days. Scheduled to close voting on June 1st, this poll was set to allow unique votes only to ensure nobody used the poll to promote their own personal agenda. You may be surprised to learn, some 96% of Twitter users are in favor of legalizing the “demon weed” in one form or another.
| Now before you start thinking this poll was only circulated in stoner circles, you should know hundreds of users tweeted this poll. Some of these retweeters have tens of thousands of followers such as @Zaibatsu and @BuzzEdition, so it is safe to say this is a healthy representation of the twitter collective mind on the subject.
During the course of this poll, a few people commented to me this isn’t an accurate representation of twitter users because only those in favor of legalization were likely to respond to the poll. I concede the results indicate the overwhelming response came from those in support of legalization, but what does that say about those that oppose? Like any election or poll, abstinence from voting sends a message also. It says you aren’t passionate about this issue one way or another. While you can’t put a number on Twitter users in this camp, it’s obvious by the results of the poll - those that oppose legalization are losing the will to fight about it. That’s good news for patients around the country who are desperately hoping marijuana is legalized in their area, at least for medicinal use. It is also good news for states and the federal government as they increasingly look for new revenue streams to continue funding public projects and even to simply pay their staff. Those states debating the marijuana issue should find results like this encouraging, it’s no longer the political suicide it used to be. |
No, twitter users are not unique in their thinking, in fact a recent CNN poll shows similar results with an even larger sampling of public participation. They pushed the question even further asking if all drugs should be legalized. It looks like the issue is here to stay, at least as long as the country battles it’s way through the current recession. CNBC is running specials; “Marijuana Inc - Inside America’s Pot Industry“, CNN has run recent specials covering the issue, even the research institute CATO is reporting the results in Portugal should not be ignored. Even more interesting is the increase in donations to long time pro-marijuana groups such as NORML who put the money to quick use by launching the first-ever nationwide pro-marijuana TV ad campaign late last April.
So where do you stand on this hot button issue? Did you vote in the twitter poll? Why or why not?
May 28th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
you know, of course it should be legal given that alcohol and tobacco are, but the question of taxation versus free weed is an interesting one. it was thanks to your poll that i grappled with this question and changed my views. i realized, it IS free. what right does anyone have to decide otherwise? keep it free as was intended by our creator. the question is, why is tobacco legal?
May 28th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
That is very interesting samantha, I voted for legalization & taxation. Considering it’s California’s cash crop (at $100 million a year) - and we are only talking medical revenues - the country could really use the boost.
I know what you mean though, when I wrote the poll I realized quickly this was no simple Yes or No answer. I was surprised how many felt it should be let free!
May 29th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Let it be FREE but of course also sell and tax it. The varieties available would be UNREAL and people would STILL BUY IT even though they could grow it… NOT EVERYONE WANTS TO… I mean we can all grow tomatoes but we still buy them at the grocery store!!!
May 29th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
I’m with you Kevin - If it were treated just like alcohol, the individual could brew (or grow in this case) enough for personal consumption and be exempt from taxes unless that person decides to sell it. And I’ve discussed this with many people, even those that would grow it would likely also buy the taxed and packaged stuff in off seasons.
It could potentially be a huge revenue stream for the US government.
May 30th, 2009 at 2:32 am
legalize it. Let parents control their children. Get government out of our personal lives.
May 30th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
If we weren’t supposed to use cannibis then why do our brains have receptors for it?
May 30th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
There are viable solutions out there. If we can regulate narcotics that can be manufactured in home, why can we not regulate marijuana to those with medicinal needs and for those who use sociably a lower concentration of herb. Keep in mind everyone is effected differently from pot, hell I am normal in my opinion and in others as well, some become uncontrollable with laughter and others get paranoid, fall asleep, even act stupid. I smoke everyday and not once been busted for possession, however, it would be nice to not have the worry. Legalize it, Regulate it, Stop debating it.
May 30th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
It’s time for sanity.
May 30th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
I am a Oregon Medical Marijuana card holder, I have been legal for 5 years now, before that I was hooked on pain pills and still struggling everyday with chronic pain issues. There are some really great resources in Oregon for OMMP patients. I am not spam I am a real live person living with this marijuana issue in my life everyday. Contact http://www.oregongreenfree.net for some really great info and a wonderful community full of some really cool people living with this issue. OMMP is really the best decision i ever made for myself, no more narcotics no more not being able to be a part of my own life. medicate in a good way people, have a good life and i gotta say it, i cant help it.. dont worry, be happy. have a nice day cyberland.. haha
May 30th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
I just spoke with someone who has recently visited dispensaries and found that they are selling at outrageous prices… and said that they seemed to be more into it for the money than to help people. This is disturbing, and a reason that i would argue that like tomatoes, we can choose whether to buy marijuana from a store and/or grow our own.
We should pay taxes on the marijuana we buy, of course. And on that which we grow only if we are selling it. Like tomatoes, we should be able to grow the herb for free.
Complete legalization, not just for medical reasons, should not result in super expensive herbs like how the Pharm companies have made their little pills into a multi-billion dollar industry.
At the end of the day, IT’S JUST WEED, PEOPLE! It’s strange that our country is so backwards when it comes to weed.
There is something weird going on here: cocaine is scheduled as a less dangerous drug than weed; the government holds a patent on medical marijuana yet continues it’s schedule 1 classification, meaning it’s without any medicinal benefit.
It’s strange that the drug czar comes out with this news of super high (read: dangerous) THC weed and the news warrents a CNN news special. Yet, on April 1st, news broke out of Spain that THC was found to shrink cancerous tumors and stop the spread of cancer cells. No news coverage whatsoever.
Next, we find that the drug czar pretty much twisted the facts to come up with his high THC number, and didn’t mention that those levels were only a result of mixing hashish into the marijuana. This news deserves it’s own CNN special, but we will never see this. The propaganda is rampant.
This facade cannot last much longer, and I want to thank all of you who care and work for justice.
May 31st, 2009 at 12:59 am
Not only do I support legalization in the US, I support it in Canada. Further to that, I support it in Mexico, as if they legalize it as they should, billions of dollars will instantly be removed from the pockets of drug kingpins and cartels, and it WILL make the Mexican people safer. Theoretically, once people can farm their own land safely again, they won’t have as great a need for going abroad to find decent paying work, and the majority of the complainers about immigrant workers will finally have a lot less to complain about.
Further to that thought, and for those who are interested, here is a link to the medical cannabis program in Canada, complete with .pdf application forms which can be downloaded, filled out, and sent back for 100% legal access to cannabis for medical purposes.
Main information page:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/marihuana/index-eng.php
Application forms:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/marihuana/how-comment/index-eng.php
For those who are still not completely aware of the truth behind cannabis usage over the last 10 millennia (yes, 10,000 years!) you might also wish to see these sites:
http://JackHerer.com
http://PhoenixTears.ca
http://PhoenixTearsMovie.com
http://NORML.org
http://NORML.ca
PS: I voted “legalize it.” There is absolutely no need to create any new taxes for cannabis, since at the moment, the billions of dollars which currently are totally in the underground economy are completely tax free. By simply allowing it to be grown and sold commercially, this will be a completely new market which hasn’t existed for more than 70 years!
This is not to say “don’t regulate it” however…just that anyone who wants to grow it for personal uses, be they medical or recreational, they should simply be left alone. It should be tested, verified, classified and quality controlled for commercial distribution, whether that be for medical or recreational use, and it should definitely be kept out of the hands of minors.
Fact is, if you’re old enough to walk into a bar, you’re old enough to make the decision for yourself whether you’d rather buy something absolutely natural which has confirmed health benefits, or alcohol, which kills tens of thousands of people each and every year.
As there is some question as to the effects on the potential for chemistry modification in developing brains, it should immediately be studied to determine whether this is speculation or fact, and in the meantime, it should be restricted to those over the age of 19 to be certain that potential brain chemstry changes do not occur.
Past that…I’m as eager to see what happens with all this as you all are! d=^)
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