Health & Fitness
81.6% of 10,000 people in online survey said Legalize Marijuana
A web survey by Michigan's largest online news agency reveals a startling number are ready to ignore medical and go for full legalization of marijuana
I wonder if MLive Media Group reporter Julie Mack knew what she was in for when she posted a marijuana legalization poll on the Group's Lansing webpage?
Her article, "Take our online poll: Should Michigan legalize marijuana?", contained the poll. It offered readers three options: legalize marijuana, decriminalize marijuana without making it legal, or continuing the current laws prohibiting cannabis. Within a few days there were 9,684 votes cast and 7,906 people selected full legalization. Decriminalize received 588 votes (6.8% of the total) and continue with current criminality towards marijuana gained 1190 votes (12.29%).
A previous article titled "Is enforcing marijuana laws a good use of public resources?" by Mack had received such a wave of attention that she initiated the poll. That article shows 241 comments posted by readers.
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In the article, Mack relates an interview she had with Michigan's Attorney General Bill Schuette- a notorious foe of relaxing marijuana laws. Mack pulls no punches when describing the A.G. and his admissions of marijuana use:
For instance, years ago Bill Schuette was a pot smoker. "Ancient history," he says now, and that's fair enough. There are certainly many, many Baby Boomers whose "ancient history" includes smoking pot.But people like Schuette -- a white, affluent kid whose stepfather was CEO of Dow Chemical Co. -- generally didn't (don't) have to pay the price of their illegal drug misdeeds. Meanwhile, minorities -- especially those in the inner city -- are far more likely to get caught, and forced to face the legal consequences.
Mack included a nifty graphic along with the article showing the 2012 Arrest Rate for Marijuana Offenses, by city, based on population. The leader of the pack is the heavily African-American community of Benton Harbor, who rated 6.7 arrests per 1.000 citizens. Included in the state's top 10 were other cities with large black populations, including Flint (3.9 arrests per 1,000); Saginaw (5.7); Detroit (1.8); and Grand Rapids(5.5).
When Mack published the Poll she included it in a report summarizing the 251 comments received on the "Is enforcing marijuana laws..." article. To date, the "Poll" article has 364 reader comments. The poll was equipped with a program that prevented multiple votes from the same IP address.
