POLL SHOWS VAST SUPPORT FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

On the eve of a vital vote in Congress, medical marijuana advocates on
Monday unveiled a new poll showing significant public opposition to
federal raids on patients who use pot.

A poll of 732 randomly selected registered voters across the nation
found 68 percent said the federal government should not prosecute
medical marijuana patients now that it has been given the go-ahead to
do so by last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

The sentiment was slightly higher among men than among women; among
those under 45 than those older; and among Democrats than among
Republicans or independents. But no demographic group's majority
supported the raids.

The poll also found 65 percent agreed adults should be allowed to
legally use marijuana for medical purposes if their doctors recommend
it. The poll was commissioned by the Marijuana Policy Project and was
conducted June 8-11 by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of
Washington, D.C.

The project rolled out the results Monday, one week after the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled against Oakland medical marijuana patient Angel
McClary Raich and co-plaintiff Diane Monson of Oroville.

In a 6-3 ruling, the court rejected an argument that the federal
government is constitutionally barred from regulating activity that is
completely within a state's borders and does not involve money
changing hands.

Raich is in Washington today as the medical marijuana battle moves from the
courts to Congress. She and other advocates are lobbying hard for a
spending-bill amendment co-authored by Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-NY, and
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, that would
forbid the Justice Department from spending money to raid or prosecute
patients or providers in states with medical marijuana laws.

The United Methodist Church and the American Nurses Association wrote
to Congress on Monday urging lawmakers to support the
Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment.

The amendment has been put forth twice before in recent years, each
time failing in the House by about 70 votes; advocates hope the
Supreme Court ruling could improve their chances.

MPP spokesman Bruce Mirken noted Monday that White House drug czar
John Walters last week pronounced medical marijuana dead as a
political issue. Yet one day later, Rhode Island's state Senate voted
34-2 for a medical marijuana bill, and now the MPP's poll shows most
Americans oppose the federal government's position.

"He is even more wrong than he usually is," Mirken said of
Walters.

An AARP poll of 1,706 adults aged 45 and older conducted late last
year found 72 percent believed adults should be allowed to legally use
marijuana for medical purposes if a physician recommends it.