Colorado Still Divided on Medical Marijuana (ContributorNetwork)

According to a report by the Associated Press, the governors of Washington and Rhode Island are pushing for a federal reclassification of marijuana that would allow doctors to prescribe the drug and pharmacists to supply it. However, the Denver Post reports that in Colorado, citizens still remain divided on whether legal medical marijuana is a good thing.

Here's a look at medical marijuana in the state:

* Colorado is among 16 states, and the District of Columbia, who have laws on the books regarding medical marijuana. Colorado's law, Amendment 20, was passed in November 2000. The law amended the state constitution to allow medical marijuana for patients with a qualifying condition. Doctors can recommend the use of marijuana for illnesses such as nausea, HIV/AIDS, cancer, chronic pain and seizures. A primary caregiver may register with the Medical Marijuana Registry to possess up to two ounces of usable form marijuana and not more than six plants, with no more than three being mature, per patient.

* Voters in 33 cities and towns, as well as those in nine counties in Colorado have opted to ban medical marijuana businesses in their communities. Another 44 cities and 30 counties have banned dispensaries by ordinance, the Denver Post reports. Though medical marijuana is legal in the state, 43 percent of Colorado's residents live in communities where businesses providing medical marijuana products are not allowed.

* A study released in November, by Daniel I. Rees of the University of Colorado Denver, indicates that legalization of medical marijuana is associated with increased use of marijuana among adults, but not minors. Legalization in the sixteen states that have passed medical marijuana laws, Rees wrote, is associated with a nine percent decrease in traffic fatalities. The reason, the study reports, is that medical marijuana is often a substitute for alcohol. The highest reduction in traffic fatalities in medical marijuana states is with the 20-29 age group, the study showed.

* An independent poll conducted this summer showed that, in spite of all the municipal bans of medical marijuana businesses, 51 percent of the state's citizens support an outright legalization of marijuana. The most support (71 percent) came from individuals in the 18-29 year old age bracket. Males tend to support the idea more than females. An organization calling itself the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has been collecting petitions in order to get a 2012 statewide ballot initiative to end marijuana prohibition in Colorado, establishing the ability to tax the drug as alcohol is taxed and also provide for the cultivation of industrial hemp.

* A spokesman for Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper stated to the Associated Press that the governor may be compelled to join on with the petition by Washington and Rhode Island's governors for the reclassification of medical marijuana. The reclassification would make marijuana a Schedule 2 drug, rather than a Schedule 1. In the past, the Drug Enforcement Agency has denied such petitions, though this is the first one signed by governors, the Associated Press reported.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/meds/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111201/hl_ac/10573407_colorado_still_divided_on_medical_marijuana

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