Testing It Up

A poll released on Monday finds 54% of voters from Washington state is in favor of Initiative 502 (I-502) that would legalize small amounts of marijuana for recreational use among people age 21 and older.

According to the polls from Strategies 360, a Seattle-based political consulting firm, only 38% of Washington voters opposed the initiative and about 7% said they were undecided, The Seattle Times reports.

Two other states considering similar measure are Colorado and Oregon. The latest poll in Colorado shows 48% of the voters favor marijuana legalization measure, but support is weakening and opposition is firming up. Legalization is also on the ballot in Oregon, however, the measure is far behind in the polls.

The poll by Strategies 360 wasn’t the first to show the numbers of those in favor of marijuana legalization in Washington. Earlier, a survey from SurveyUSA and KING 5 NEWS reveals 55% of Washington voters would want marijuana legalized in the state. In another poll, conducted by KCTS 9 Washington, 51% of the voters support the measure, compared to the 41% who are not in favor of it.

If passed, Initiative 502 would legalize possession of marijuana for adults who are 21 years and older. It would also tax marijuana sales, license and regulate marijuana production and distribution, as well as remove state-law criminal and civil penalties for activities that it authorizes.

Arizona may add more conditions where patients may use medical marijuana, beyond the set of health conditions present in its current medical marijuana law.

The Arizona Department of Health Services held a public hearing Friday on the first batch of requests for expansion of coverage. The department is required by law to consider such requests.

Among the conditions that are being requested to be added to the health conditions covered in the use of medical marijuana are post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), migraines, depression, and general anxiety disorder. The current law allows the use of medical marijuana for the treatment of such conditions as cancer, glaucoma, AIDS, chronic pain, muscle spasms, and hepatitis C.

In addition to the public hearing on requests to expand coverage, Friday is also the deadline for submission of applications to operate medical marijuana dispensaries. One dispensary per designated area will be allowed to operate, and up to 126 dispensaries will be allowed to operate across the state. As of end of day Wednesday, almost 200 dispensary applications have been received by the state, according to Health Services Director Will Humble. More applications were expected to be submitted by the Friday deadline.

To date, more than 28,000 people have been awarded medical marijuana user cards. The most common medical condition that people with medical marijuana user cards suffer from is chronic pain. Most of these users are also allowed to grow marijuana for personal use, at least until a dispensary is allowed to operate in their area.