Pubdate: Wed, 10 Apr 2002
Source: UWM Post, The (WI Edu)
Copyright: 2002 The UWM Post
Contact:  http://www.uwmpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2130
Author: Liz Greenawalt
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

LEGALIZING MEDICINE

Recent Study Uncovers Wisconsin's Support For Legalizing Medical Marijuana

The question over the legality of medical marijuana has taken a step 
forward in the state of Wisconsin. A recent poll commissioned by medical 
marijuana advocacy groups including "Is My Medicine Legal Yet?" (IMMLY), 
shows that an overwhelming 80.3 percent of Wisconsinites support the 
legalization of medical marijuana.

In the study, done by Chamberlain Research Consultants, Wisconsin was 
broken into eight regions, the Extreme South East, Fox Valley, Madison, 
North West, Milwaukee, North East, South West, and South East. Not 
surprisingly, the Madison area came in first with 91.7 percent of 
respondents agreeing that medical marijuana should be legalized. The North 
West region had the fewest amount of supporters, but still showed a 70.7 
percent acceptance rate.

IMMLY's Director of Communications, Gary Storck, said, "Across the state, 
in every single region, people expressed very strong support. These results 
say that giving patients legal access to medical marijuana is an issue that 
is not liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, or only popular in 
Madison, as some politicos [sic] have suggested. They send a strong message 
that Wisconsinites see medical marijuana as a matter of compassion and 
public health, not criminal justice or partisan politics."

The study included 600 respondents over the age of 18 in all counties of 
the state. The question they were given asked: "Would you support the 
Wisconsin State Legislature passing a law to allow seriously ill or 
terminally ill patients to use marijuana for medical purposes if supported 
by their physician?"

The results have a margin of error of +/- 3.97%, which for most of the data 
means there is very little division among different categories within the 
sample. A strong support with little division between the respondents casts 
a brighter ray of hope for those suffering without the benefits of medical 
marijuana.

Here is a breakdown of several variables included in the poll, which relate 
to Wisconsin residents' perception of whether medical marijuana should be 
legalized:

Media Markets

Madison.......................88.4%

Wausau/Rhinelander............85.5%

La Crosse/Eau Claire............80.4%

Milwaukee.....................79.8%

Green Bay/Appleton............77.5%

Duluth/Superior................71.4%

Minneapolis/St. Paul............64.3%

Voting Preference

Democrat.......................84.2%

Republican.....................78.2%

Age

18-24...........................91.1%

25-34...........................76.8%

35-44...........................79.8%

45-54...........................86.0%

55-64...........................76.6%

65+.............................75.2%

Marital Status

Single..........................83.8%

Married.........................78.5%

Own or Rent

Homeowners..........86.2%

Renters.........................80.0%

Gender

Male...........................78.5%

Female.........................82.1%

Annual Household Income

Under $20K....................76.4%

$20-36K........................75.9%

$36-51K........................82.1%

$51-76K........................83.6%

$76-100K.......................87.5%

Over $100K ....................83.0%

Education

Less than high school............75.8%

High school grad................81.0%

Some college...................82.2%

College degree..................78.6%

Post grad.......................79.2%

Occupation

Blue collar......................80.3%

White collar.....................80.1%

Retired.........................90.2%

Student.........................90.0%

Unemployed....................80.0%

Supervisor......................90.0%

Miscellaneous...................66.7% 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Ariel