Lit_Match

Poll Finds Majority of Likely Voters Would Vote Against Question 7 in Reno.
10-31-06|kmv.com

News 4 and the Reno Gazette-Journal are continuing our coverage of decision 2006 with the latest poll numbers, now one week before the election. We are talking about question 7, also known as the marijuana initiative.

It would allow residents over the age of 21 to legally posses and use one ounce or less of marijuana.

Of the 600 likely voters interviewed , 41% said they would vote for the initiative and 52% would vote against it.

Out of those numbers, more women support the initiative than men but the majority would vote against it. More democrats support the question than republicans with democrats equally split.

The survey has a 4 % margin of error.

Lothar121

Let's just keep in mind that the only poll that used the ballot initiative language to ask the question showed the initiative leading 49 to 43.

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Herbania

The battle isn't going to be won in Reno. Reno has a significant Mormon population and has always been largely republican. 90% of the population of Nevada is in Clark County(Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City). If the poll was taken there with the same result I would be more pessimistic about the law passing.

^_^truth

My point has already stated by the previous poster; however, I would like to add that a sample size of 600 is rather small consitering the population. Also, I would like to ask if anyone knows if the pollsters were talking to a random selection or playing by demographics (the data given suggests that it was played to a middle-age demographic in my interpretation).

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KidCannabis420

Of all of the cities in Nevada, Reno is one that would prosper greatly from increased tourist business if the law was passed and Reno in effect became a "Little Amsterdam" as some have speculated. From what I understand, Reno's tourist trade has diminished in recent years, giving way to local Indian Casinos. The other cities that would most prosper are Las Vegas and Tahoe.

To take it a step further, the police would no longer have their time tied up with minor marijuana offences. This would allow them more time to chase down the real criminals and make Nevada a safer place to live and play. This is especially true because it would take away organized crime's cash crop and place it in the hands of the state government and common people. Because the legalization would be regulated by the US government, they won't stand to lose much overall. The proceeds will be shared between a general state fund and a drug abuse treatment fund.

IMHO This is about control. They can control the general population (at their own discretion) with anti-marijuana laws. This was the intent when some of the first anti-marijuana laws were introduced. At that time, they were trying to control the Mexican migrant worker population during the depression era. They used it as a reason to deport, harass and basically force these people to return to their native lands so that Americans would have less competition in the bread lines. Similar laws were later used to break up the "Hippie Movement" where they preached love, change (revolution) and world peace. These laws were agreed upon by a few big businesses as a way to stifle the hemp industry. They essentially looked at it like this, "If the Hemp market is competition for the products that we produce, let's jump on Anslinger's band wagon and make hemp illegal and demonize it so that the American public goes along with the idea." We ultimately have Harry Anslinger, Dupont, The cotton industry and William Randalf Hurst to thank for the shortsighted Cannabis laws that we have today.

Anslinger wanted to make marijuana illegal because in 1933 Alcohol prohibition ended and there were all of these anti-alcohol agents that didn't have any crime left to battle. By making marijuana/Hemp illegal (until this time it had been legal the world over and for 10,000 years considered the #1 fiber.) he was able to better his investments and create work for those agents. He was the wielder of the hammer that drove the first nail into the coffin with the Marijuana Tax Stamp law.

It is also about money and pharmaceutical kickbacks that the US Government receives. Imagine if it was common knowledge that you can grow your own medicine (that has been used in a medicinal capacity in China since 2820BC) free of cost. The side effects of this free medicine are far less than that of most common everyday medicines (Munchies, Red Eyes, Deep Thoughts, Dry Mouth. Honestly, have you heard of some of the side effects on these pharmaceutical commercials on TV? OMG, some of them are worse than the illness that you're trying to medicate!) Then imagine the impact that knowledge would have on the pharmaceutical company’s' income. For every dollar spent on pharmaceuticals, the US Government takes a percentage. If that income suddenly goes away, what happens to our economy? The money that the pharmaceutical companies were supplying the government with would suddenly be turned off, costing billions for all parties involved, except the consumer (and the State Government if regulated/taxed properly). So next time they tell you that they have the general public or consumer's best interests in mind when it comes to anything that involves a free, abundant natural resource - take it with a grain assault. That's sunshine they're blowing (you know where).

As a side note, I'm somewhat of a conspiracy theorist, but this came to mind while I was writing the above: Ever wonder why we don't have flying cars yet? If only we knew of all of the great inventions that have been patented and the government has immediately bought the patent and shelved the product. We would probably find zero gravity (perpetual motion) machines that generate free, endless power and electro magnets arranged in such a way to allow an anti gravity field. Endless Power + Anti Gravity field = flying vehicle. Imagine if the human race was given a free source of energy (like the perpetual motion machine). The oil companies that we all rely so heavily upon would be devastated. The tax money that the government receives for sales would be a thing of the past. I'm sure that we can find several other instances where the American Government's stance on any given subject is ultimately financially driven.

Wouldn't it be nice if our government started doing things because it's the right thing to do, not just the financially sound thing to do?It would be even better if we had honest politicians to choose from when voting. I'm sure a lot more people would vote if they had some decent incumbents to choose from instead of the mud slinging crooks that most of them are.