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Report details effect of Prop 215 on California |
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Written by Bruce Mirken
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Thursday, 16 November 2006 |
The Marijuana Policy Project released the first comprehensive examination of the impact of California’s landmark medical marijuana law, Proposition 215 Ten Years Later: Medical Marijuana Goes Mainstream.
The report, which can be downloaded at MarijuanaPolicy.org, includes:
• An analysis of predictions made by opponents of medical marijuana, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Clinton administration Drug Czar Gen. Barry McCaffrey, and how they have played out in California and the 10 other medical marijuana states. Among other things, McCaffrey predicted “increased drug abuse in every category,” but, teen marijuana use dropped precipitously in California, and has declined across the board in states that have legalized medical marijuana laws.
After the passage of Prop 215, teen marijuana use has steadily dropped in California.
• New polling from all 11 medical marijuana states showing strong, growing public support for the laws.
• An examination of key legal decisions affecting state medical marijuana laws.
• The real-world experiences of patients now protected by state medical marijuana laws, as well as of patients living in states where they still lack legal protection.
• A summary of key research developments since the initiative’s passage, including new evidence of cannabis’ benefit in treating hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, chronic pain, cancer, and neurological illnesses such as multiple sclerosis.
“In 1996, medical marijuana was often dismissed as a fringe issue, but that is no longer the case,” the report concludes. “In the decade since passage of Proposition 215, support has steadily grown, reaching a level of public consensus seen with relatively few issues. ... Politicians, particularly at the federal level, have been slow to adapt to the changing landscape.”
The MPP is the largest cannabis policy reform organization in the US.
* Mirken is MPP director of communications |
Bruce Mirken |
| About the author: |
| Bruce Mirken has served as communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project
since 2001. Prior to joining MPP, he was a freelance journalist
covering health and social issues for a variety of publications. His
news articles and op-ed columns appeared in such local and national
publications as Men's Health, The Advocate, In These Times, the San Francisco Examiner, the Miami Herald and many others. Along the way, he won 11 assorted journalism awards for his reporting and commentary. |
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