A minorchunk of people from Kentucky are ready to legalize medical marijuana, as per a Herald-Leader/WKYT Bluegrass Poll.
The survey involved around 1,082 registered voters, to seek if they favored or opposed the legalization of medical cannabis in Kentucky and 37 percent of people opposed it, 52 percent were in favor and 12 percent of people were not sure.
The support was highest in the 18-34 age groups, accounting to about 60 percent, while the 35% voters who opposed the same were in the age group of 65+. The support was seen to be a little higher in the urban areas of the state when compared to the rural eastern and western Kentucky.
The survey was conducted from January 30 to February 3 by SurveyUSA in partnership with the Courier-Journal and WHAS-TV in Louisville. Legalization of medical marijuana has been approved in at least 20 states and districts to treat some sort of medical conditions and the voters in Washington and Colorado have legalized recreational use ofcannabis too.
However, the issue remains controversial in few socially conservative states like Kentucky, where the law enforcement officials have tried to completely eradicate the cultivation of marijuana for decades.
“That is a trend which is developing nationwide. It’s actually on the ballot to be voted on in Florida,” House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said last week. “There does seem to be in the public a growing awareness that the medical marijuana issue is different from the drug issue, legalizing the drug for recreational purposes.”
State Sen. Perry Clark, D-Louisville has financed the legislation over and over again to legalize medical marijuana. In January during a legislative hearing over this issue, two parents explained to lawmakers how oil made out of cannabis along with a little high-inducing drug tetrahydrocannabinol have helped their children fight seizures.
Clark says that such arguments have convinced several people that laws against marijuana are way too restrictive.
“That’s a big movement from just a few years ago; instead of 52 (percent), it would have been 30” Clark said, and added that – “it’s a lot of edification.”
People like Jaime Montalvo, President of Kentuckians for medicinal cannabishave been trying to influence the lawmakers for years now. Montalvo who happens to have multiple sclerosis stated that cannabis help in treating muscle spasms, relieving pain, helps him sleep, and also eases his ability to walk. He also said that the lawmakers often are flexible to discussions in private, and was quoted as saying – “But they are not public about it… It’s like a taboo, and they don’t want to talk about it.”
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry recently declared that it opposed dispensing medical marijuana to the adolescents.
“Early use of cannabis in young adults may result in detrimental long-term side effects, including impaired developmental processes that could lead to lower intelligence, increased risk for suicide, as well as a multitude of mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, anger, moodiness, and psychosis,” the group said in a statement.
“The bottom line is this: that oil has been the subject of clinical trials, and if that can benefit, I think it could have a chance of passing.
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