NYCC } Supporters

NY-specific organizations, etc. in support of medical marijuana law reform

Organizations, etc. in support of medical marijuana law reform

Public opinion on medical marijuana

2005 New York Siena Research Poll

NY-Specific Organizations, etc. in Support of Medical Marijuana Reform

• Associated Medical Schools of New York
• Exponents
• Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC)
• Gray Panthers
• Housing Works
• Latino Commission on AIDS (NYS)
• Medical Society of the State of New York
• Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse
• New York AIDS Coalition (NYAC)
• New York County Medical Society
• New York State Association of County Health Officials
• New York State Hospice and Palliative Care Association
• New York State Nurses Association
• New York Statewide Senior Action Council
• NYS Chapter Rochester Breast Cancer Coalition
• The Albany, Buffalo and New York City Councils
• York State AIDS Advisory Council
• Bronx, Westcester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, and Dutchess County Medical Societies

Organizations, etc. in Support of Medical Marijuana Reform


• American Academy of HIV Medicine
• American Bar Association
• American Nurses Association
• American Public Health Association
• Episcopal Church
• Lymphoma Foundation of America
• Lymphoma & Leukemia Society
• National Black Police Association
• Presbyterian Church USA
• United Church of Christ
• United the Methodist Church's Board of Church and Society
• Union of Reform Judaism
• Unitarian Universalist Association

Public Opinion on Medical Marijuana

• A June 2005 Siena Research poll found 76% of New Yorkers supported allowing the seriously ill to use marijuana for medical purposes, under the supervision of a physician. Seventy-two percent of Republicans and 80% of Democrats supported allowing medical marijuana.

• The medical use of marijuana is supported even by New York's most conservative voters. A July 2005 poll found 55% of Conservative Party voters interviewed by phone said they support patients' right to grow and use limited amounts of marijuana if their doctors recommend it, compared with 35% of respondents who opposed the idea.

• Voters in 8 states (AK, CA, CO, DC, ME, MT, NV, OR & WA) and Eashington, D.C. have passed medical marijuana initiatives.

• A 1990 survey of oncologists reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology found that 54% of those with an opinion favored the medical availability of marijuana, and 44% had already recommended that a patient use it.

• A 1999 Institute of Medicine meta-analysis of nationwide polls found support ranged from 60-70% in polls conducted in 1997 and 1998.

• A 1998 study by the Harvard School of Public Health published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that in 47 polls conducted from 1978-1997 over 60% of the public supported medical marijuana.

• A nationwide Gallup poll in March of 1999 found that 73% of Americans supported making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering.

• State Ballot Initiatives: Since 1996, a majority of voters in Alaska, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington state have voted in favor of ballot initiatives to remove criminal penalties for seriously ill people who grow or possess medical marijuana. Recent polls have shown that public approval of these laws has increased since they went into effect.

• Medical Provider Opinion: A 1990 scientific survey of oncologists (cancer specialists) found that 54% of those with an opinion favored the controlled medical availability of marijuana and 44% had already broken the law by suggesting at least once that a patient obtain marijuana illegally. [R. Doblin & M. Kleiman, "Marijuana as Antiemetic Medicine," Journal of Clinical Oncology 9 (1991): 1314-1319.]

• State & National Public Opinion: As the following tables demonstrate, every scientifically conducted public opinion poll has found a majority in support for making marijuana medically available to seriously ill patients.

• Meta-Analysis of Nationwide Polls Two meta-analyses have been conducted of medical marijuana public opinion polls. The findings are as follows:

• 1997-1998: The Institute of Medicine (IOM) in its 1999 report, Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base, reported that "public support for patient access to marijuana for medical use appears substantial; public opinion polls taken during 1997 and 1998 generally reported 60-70 percent of respondents in favor of allowing medical uses of marijuana" (p. 18).

• 1978-1997: A study by the Harvard School of Public Health--published on March 18, 1998, in the Journal of the American Medical Association -- analyzed the results of 47 national drug policy surveys conducted between 1978 and 1997. The study reports that more than 60% of the public support the "legalized use of marijuana for medical purposes."