MANY PASTORS SUPPORT MEDICINAL MARIJUANA

Forty-four percent of Protestant pastors support the use of marijuana for
medicinal purposes, while only about 20 percent support decriminalizing the
non-medicinal use of marijuana, according to a new survey.

The study of 518 Protestant ministers, commissioned by Phoenix-based
Ellison Research, found surprisingly strong support for the use of
marijuana to relieve pain for patients with cancer and other medical ailments.

The study found stronger support for medicinal marijuana use from pastors
affiliated with the National Council of Churches as opposed to the more
conservative National Association of Evangelicals.

Among NCC-affiliated pastors, 66 percent supported medicinal marijuana use
while 33 percent opposed it. The numbers were almost exactly opposite for
NAE-affiliated pastors, with only 31 percent supporting it and 69 percent
opposed.

Ron Sellers, the firm's president, said the most interesting findings lie
in the difference between pastors who either "strongly" or "somewhat"
oppose or support the policy. The number of pastors who have lukewarm
feelings on the subject - 58 percent is larger than the number who feel
"strongly" either way, about 42 percent.

"Many ministers may be trying to balance a strong anti-drug position with
compassion for people who have medical problems," Sellers said.

Sellers also noted that when asked about decriminalizing marijuana, older
pastors were surprisingly more supportive. Just 4 percent of pastors under
the age of 45 supported legalizing marijuana, while 12 percent of pastors
over the age of 60 supported it.

The survey of 508 pastors had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3
percentage points.