polling

By David Martin

A state lawmaker from Olathe recently made a feeble Doritos crack in attempt to belittle legislation that would allow the chronically ill to obtain marijuana by a prescription. Turns out, the jokeman, state Rep. Scott Schwab, is out of step with most Kansans.

Legalizing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes has 58 percent support, according to a recent poll of 500 adults. SurveyUSA conducted the poll on behalf of Wichita TV station KWCH.

By ASHA BEH, NBC Washington

Same-sex marriage? Check. Medical marijuana? Check. President Obama? Check.

When it comes to "the progressive, activist social agenda being pursued by the D.C. Council," District residents are on board -- at least in the majority-white areas, according to a Washington Post poll conducted last month. 

The poll responses, along with sky high approval ratings for President Obama, help confirm the city's reputation as one of the most left-leaning jurisdictions in the country.

... But overall support masks racial divides on many of the new policies approved by the council, underscoring that residents in majority-white areas feel far different about a variety of issues than their counterparts in majority-black neighborhoods.

By. Dutch News

Some 50% of the population think cannabis should be fully legalised while 25% want a complete ban, according to the latest Maurice de Hond opinion poll.

The Netherlands has a policy of turning a blind eye to the possession of up to five grammes of marijuana for personal use. The drug can be bought in small quantities from cafes known as coffee shops which operate under local government licence.

Supporters of the left wing green party Groenlinks are most in favour of legalisation (88%), while half the supporters of the two governing Christian parties CDA and ChristenUnie want soft drugs made illegal and all coffee shops closed down.

By. Steve Pendlebury, Sphere.com

New Jersey is the latest state to legalize medical marijuana, continuing a trend that began on the West Coast 14 years ago.

Fourteen states have agreed to let doctors prescribe pot to treat certain ailments since California got things rolling in 1996. The law outgoing New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine signed on Jan. 18 takes effect in six months. New York, Illinois and Maryland are among the states considering medical marijuana. The District of Columbia is on the verge of allowing it. And in neighboring Virginia, state Delegate Harvey B. Morgan, a 79-year-old Republican, has raised eyebrows by proposing decriminalization as well as marijuana-by-prescription.

By. Jane Tabe, Globe and Mail

1. A breathtaking shift. Stephen Harper’s Conservatives would lose 33 seats if an election were held today and only maintain a tenuous hold on minority government, according to a new EKOS poll.

“From comfortable majority and kudos in October to the razor’s edge of losing government altogether,” says pollster Frank Graves, whose new survey finds that Canadians simply don’t like the Parliamentary shutdown.

“Clearly it has a significant impact. It has become a proxy and a catalyst for a whole bunch of broader frustrations and anxieties that the public are feeling about the government.”

Indeed, the EKOS data is consistent with two polls released yesterday showing the Tories and Michael Ignatieff’s Liberals effectively tied for support and that Canadians are displeased with Mr. Harper’s decision to prorogue Parliament.

The survey by The Canadian Press Harris-Decima, indicates support for the Conservatives stands at 34 per cent nationally, compared to 28 per cent for the Liberals, 14 for the NDP and 13 for the Greens.

Given the margin of error, the results are essentially no different than the 36-27 split garnered by the two parties earlier this fall when the government appeared to be on a roll and the Liberals in free-fall.

Just kidding. Do anything like that and Der Volk apparently get pissed off. But on the other hand, opposing a little harder--sandbagging C-15 and other bullshit Tory "law and order bills" in the Senate--doesn't seem to have done any harm so far. So why not do more of it, in the HOC? Why are a bunch of unelected geezers in the upper chamber the sole receptacle of the gonads of the LPoC? Huh, Iggy? Any genitalia available for display?