Politics & Advocacy
Granite State lawmakers ponder a bevy of medical marijuana bills, a Data for Progress poll has two-thirds supporting marijuana legalization, and more.
Why is marijuana still illegal anywhere in America when polls consistently find strong support for legalization? (Creative Commons)
Yet Another Poll Has a Strong Majority for Marijuana Legalization. This is hardly even news anymore as majorities have been supporting legalization for more than a decade now. A new poll from Data for Progress finds that two-thirds of likely voters nationwide support ending federal marijuana prohibition, including 75 percent of Democrats, 67 percent of independents, and 54 percent of Republicans.
All three groups also gave majority support to President Biden's moves to pardon people convicted of federal marijuana prohibition and to reschedule marijuana.
Meanwhile, a separate poll from YouGov found that just under two-thirds of respondents believe the regular use of alcohol and tobacco is "more harmful to a person's health" than using marijuana. That poll had 62 percent agreeing with the statement that: "The use of marijuana should be made legal in the United States."
Medical Marijuana
New Hampshire Lawmakers Take Up Batch of Medical Marijuana Bills. Even as the Senate ponders a House-passed marijuana legalization bill, lawmakers this week turned their attention to a bevy of medical marijuana bills, all of which have passed out of their chamber of origin and are now in the other chamber. None of the bills saw votes this week, but they all had hearings where testimony was taken.
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee heard testimony on four bills: House Bill 1278, which would allow doctors to recommend medical marijuana for any condition they think it will help; House Bill 1231, which would allow patients to grow up to three plants, three immature plants, and 12 seedlings for themselves; House Bill 1349; which would add generalized anxiety disorder to the state’s list of qualifying conditions; and House Bill 1581, which would expand where medical marijuana could be grown to include greenhouses.
The House Health and Human Services Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 357, which would allow any provider who is licensed to prescribe drugs to humans to also recommend medical marijuana.
Psychedelics
Missouri Psilocybin Therapy Bill Wins Another Committee Vote. A bill that would allow for the medicinal use of psilocybin by military veterans, House Bill 1830, won a second committee vote this week. The measure passed the House Rules -- Regulatory Oversight Committee on Tuesday after being approved by the House Veterans Committee last month.
The bill would allow veterans 21 and over who are diagnosed with PTSD or substance abuse disorders to legally consume lab-tested psilocybin. Potential patients would have to be enrolled or be seeking enrollment in a study involving the psychedelic.
Companion legislation in the Senate has already been approved by that body. The House bill now heads for a House floor vote.
Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
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