Washington, DC: Nearly six out of ten American and Canadians support liberalizing penalties for the personal use of marijuana, according to an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted for the Canada Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC.
One thousand Americans and 1,000 Canadians responded to the poll. Among Canadians, 59 percent of respondents disagreed with the statement, “The conviction of possession of marijuana should always result in a criminal record.” Fifty-seven percent of Americans disagreed with the statement.
A previous poll of US attitudes toward marijuana laws performed by Time Magazine and CNN found that an even greater number of Americans disagree with the notion that an adult should serve jail time for the personal use of cannabis. That poll noted that 72 percent of Americans support fines, but no jail time, for adults who use cannabis recreationally.
Remember the 1970’s when Nixon would claim there was a “silent majority” out there being drowned out by the anti-war movement? Well, now there appears to be a silent majority being drowned out by the pro-drug war movement. Despite generation after generation being fed lies about nature’s most beneficial plant, there’s enough folks out there who’ve tried it, know someone who’s tried it, or are currently using it, still three out of five people know it’s not a crime, at least in the moral/ethical sense.
As of 2003, data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2003 show that there are 14.6 million Americans who have used marijuana at least once a month, 25.2 million at least once a year, and 96.6 million who admit to having at least tried marijuana sometime in their lives. (great drug war statistics available at briancbennett.com, compiled from legit government and medical sources.) That’s 6.2% of the country that are regular potheads, 10.6% that are occasional stoners, and a whopping 40.6% who at least “experimented” with the wacky tobaccky. (Join me in sending this guy a donation, he’s done a fabulous and very meticulous job collecting and organizing this data.)
As Fox Mulder on X-Files would say, “the truth is out there”. And it would appear that 6 out of 10 North Americans are cognizant of the truth. But it doesn’t just stop with the facts, the raw data. Fighting this war against prohibition requires human faces.
Look at how much success the medical marijuana movement has had in the past nine years. Ten states have legalized and regulated marijuana for sick people. Not becuase the facts showed that marijuana was medicinal; the facts had shown that since the turn of the 20th century! It was when the frailest, bravest people in wheelchairs metaphorically stood up and looked society in the eye and said, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more!” Only the most jaded, hateful person could look back at these critically ill people and deny them their rights.
For the rest of us, it will be tougher. But don’t doubt that standing up for your rights can be effective, even if you are in the minority. Gay people make up a minority perhaps as small as regular cannabis consumers, yet they have garnered all sorts of previously denied rights since 1969. There’s still a long way to go, obviously, but my point is this: they didn’t get those rights by hiding in the closet. They came out to the world and said, “I’m gay — so what?”
I argue that cannabis consumers need to come out of the closet. Admittedly, it is harder; you couldn’t be arrested for being gay. But gays faced loss of jobs, evictions, violence, emnity of family and friends, and took all that risk in the name of securing their rights. And if African-Americans could face lynchings, firehoses, dogs, and firebombings, you can face some puzzled looks from your associates.
I’m not asking anyone to lose their job, family, or home over “coming out”. But it is really easy to slip in a comment here or there that contributes to a positive image of cannabis consumers:
- You and a co-worker see news footage of a big pot bust on TV: “Geez, why do they waste all that time and money on potheads when they could be catching real criminals!”
- Someone speaks disparagingly about stoners: “I don’t know, I had some friends in college who smoked weed and they turned out to be really successful.” (you can tailor this one to your own experiences)
- TV news sensationalizes a meth lab bust or meth-related crime: “Just think; if those were stoners, the worst thing that would happen is 7-Eleven running out of Cheetos.”
- Some drug warrior is spouting off another ridiculous set of anti-marijuana “facts” like sterility, amotivation, increased schizophrenia, or whatever the in-vogue lie is this week: “Gosh, you’d think then that all the Rastafarians would have died out, jazz musicians would never have recorded albums, and there’s be a whole Summer of Love generation in the mental ward.”
In other words, you don’t have to come out and say “Hey, I like to smoke marijuana and there’s nothing wrong with me!” (though you get extra credit if you do!), you just have to call the bullshit when you see or hear it. You don’t have to incriminate yourself, just use a lot of “I know a guy…” or “back in college I knew…” or “from what I’ve seen/read…”. You can even preface it with “Well, I don’t do it, but…”
I’ll be on local Portland cable access TV this Sunday discussing more about this issue and others. Don’t miss it!
ORNORML Presents
Cable Channel 11
Sunday, May 15 – 2:00PM-3:00PM (LIVE)
(Rebroadcast Saturday, May 21, May 28, & Jun 4 at 6:00PM, Channel 21)
