Rhode Islanders are ready to decriminalize and maybe even legalize marijuana, according to a new Public Policy Polling survey commissioned by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). The poll found nearly two-thirds support (65%) decriminalization and bare majority support (52%) for legalization.

[image:1 align:left]The poll comes as the state legislature ponders a pair of bills, House Bill 7092 and Senate Bill 2253, which would reduce the penalty for possession of less than an ounce of weed to a citation with a maximum $150 fine. Under current law, possession is punishable by a $500 fine and up to a year in jail.

Decriminalization had support across the political spectrum, with 73% of Democrats, 64% of Republicans, and 60% of independents in favor of the measure. In addition to political party, the poll provided cross-tabs on age and gender. In no group was there less than majority support for decriminalization. The least supportive group was voters over 65, and even 58% of them supported decriminalization.

But maybe legislators should set their sights a bit higher and go for legalization. It looks like the Rhode Island electorate is just about there already with 52% saying they supported taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol.

Legalization won majority support among men (59%), but not women (45%); among Democrats (55%) and Republicans (54%), but not independents (49%); and among every age group except voters over 65, 55% of whom opposed it.

"As this polling demonstrates, the public is clearly aware that marijuana prohibition is failed policy and they are ready for change," said MPP legislative analyst Robert Capecchi. "The people of Rhode Island understand the need for sensible marijuana policy reform. Ending marijuana prohibition would created entire industries with hundreds of jobs, allow the government to collected needed revenue from responsible sales, and keep marijuana out of the hands of minors through thorough regulations."

The poll also asked about medical marijuana and found strong support (72%) for the state's program. Nearly as many (70%) said they wanted Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I) to implement the state's 2009 creating three nonprofit dispensaries for patients. Chafee stopped the program because of fears of federal intervention.

The Colorado secretary of state Friday informed the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol that its signature-gathering drive to place a marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot had fallen just short. But that's not the end of the effort -- the campaign has 15 days to collect enough valid signatures to cover the shortfall, somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000.

[image:1 align:right]The campaign had handed in more than 159,000, nearly twice the 86,000 valid signatures required to make the ballot. But the secretary of state's review of the signatures found an unusually high number of invalid ones, leaving the campaign just short.

The campaign said Friday it was confident it could get the required signatures. "Given that we collected an average of 3,000 valid signatures per week during the first six months of the petition drive, we are confident we will complete this process successfully," it said. "In fact, we intentionally started the initiative process early to ensure we would have this curing period if necessary."

The initiative would legalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana and six pot plants for people 21 and over. It would also create a regulated legal framework for commercial marijuana operations, including retail sales.

A marijuana legalization initiative has qualified for the November ballot in Washington state. Efforts are in the signature-gathering phase in California, Michigan, Missouri, and Oregon.

A Malay court in Kuching, Sarawak Province, has sentenced a married couple to life in prison for possessing less than a half-ounce of marijuana and having a pot plant in their home. The husband was also sentenced to nine lashes of the cane.

[image:1 align:left caption:true]Judge Afidah Abdul Rahman imposed the life sentence on Tajol Ashikin Tambi, 39, and wife Rozaimah Mat, 37. They were convicted under Section 6 of Malaysia's Dangerous Drug Act of 1952, which pertains to marijuana.

The man and wife were each convicted of two offenses, marijuana possession and marijuana cultivation. They were sentenced to three years each for possessing 20 grams of pot (less than a half ounce) and sentenced to life in prison for growing a marijuana plant.

They were arrested a year ago. They claimed their elder child had planted the marijuana plant without their knowledge, and they brought it in the house because it was "dangerous."

Their defense attorney, Voon Lee Shan, asked for leniency, citing the couple's two children, ages four and seven. But Judge Afidah Abdul Rahman demurred, saying the couple was "in denial" in claiming their child had planted the marijuana plant.

Prosecutor Hasyutantee Khalil argued against leniency, saying the public interest had to be taken into account and that the couple had failed as parents by involving their children in the case.

Tajol stoid stoicly as the sentence was pronounced, but his wife broke down in tears.

Malaysia has some of the world's harshest drug laws, including the death penalty for some offenses, including some marijuana offenses. On the up side, at least the judge suspended the caning.

A medical marijuana initiative aiming at the November ballot found nearly 60% support in a poll conducted last week. The Probolsky Research poll reported that 34.5% of respondents would "definitely vote yes," 22.5% would "probably vote yes," and 2.3% were "leaning toward" a yes vote.That comes out to 59.8% saying they favor the initiative

[image:1 align:right]The initiative, the Medical Marijuana Regulation, Control, and Tax Act (MMRCTA) would impose comprehensive, statewide regulations on medical marijuana distribution. The act would create a state medical marijuana board, require all dispensaries and commercial cultivation operations to be licensed after July 1, 2013, and impose a 2.5% state medical marijuana sales tax. (For more detail on the initiative, see our recent feature article here.)

Only 23.6% of respondents would definitely vote no, with another 9.7% who would probably vote no, and an additional 2.0% who were leaning toward no, for a total "no" vote of 34.3%. Some 5.5% of respondents were either decisively uncertain or refused to answer.

The question respondents answered was directly about the MMRCTA: "The California Medical Marijuana Regulation Act may appear on the November ballot in California. It reads: 'Creates a state enforcement division to regulate and control all entities involved in the commercial cultivation, manufacture, distribution, and sale of medical marijuana in California; requires their mandatory registration with the state; and establishes a state excise tax of upon all medical marijuana grown for sale in California.' If the election were held today, would you vote Yes to approve or No to reject this initiative? And would you say that you would definitely vote [yes/no] or probably vote [yes/no]? If unsure, would you say that you lean one way or another?"

Only limited additional polling data is available at this point, but Probolsky did provide data on where support for the initiative was strongest: among Democrats (65.8%), unaffiliated voters (67.4%), foreign-born voters (67.5%), Asian voters (66.7%), and those who feel California is on the right track (68.4%). Democratic voters over age 55 are especially supportive at 70.0%.

The poll was conducted last week in English and Spanish using landline and cell phones. A total of 750 surveys were recorded, yielding a margin of error of +-3.7%.

The MMRTC campaign has a self-imposed goal of raising a million dollars by February 9 and estimates it could take twice that much for a successful signature-gathering campaign. This poll should help push them toward that goal. The conventional wisdom is that initiatives need to be polling at 60% or above before the campaign begins, and MMRTC is very, very close.