Marijuana got a majority in every State (and DC) where it was on the ballot. Preliminary results:
Florida – 57% in favor of Medical Cannabis (it needed 60% to pass).
Oregon – legalization got 54% of the vote. That makes it the third State to legalize.
Alaska – legalization got 52% of the vote. That makes it the fourth State to legalize.
Washington DC – legalization got 69% of the vote. It will be interesting to see how Congress deals with that.
The Republican Party – the Prohibitionist Party – has a problem. When Medical Cannabis came up for a vote in the House earlier this year 170 Democrats supported it and only 49 Republicans supported it. The bill, sponsored by Republican US Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), passed 218 to 189. Which means it got 53.5% of those voting.
It will be interesting to see what the Republican majority in Congress does about these new measures. Especially DC.
Comments
One response to “The Marijuana Majority”
The Republicans need to forget the 1960’s. That decade ended over 40 years ago. The members of the so-called “Silent Majority” that eagerly supported the WOD have either died already or will die soon. Sure, they have offspring to follow in their footsteps, but a sizable number of their descendants have chosen the opposite path on the issue of cannabis as surveys and election day results are continually showing.
Catching up with and joining Democrats in legalizing medicinal cannabis would likely bring them some political benefits. Many voters like to see their politicians cooperating in a bi-partisan manner. Given that nationwide 70% of the public support legal medicinal cannabis, this should be an easy call for Republicans to go bi-partisan here.
And in the minds of many voters, there is a perceived compassion gap between the two parties with the Donks coming out on top. Support for medicinal cannabis will demonstrate to voters that they too have compassion for the sick and afflicted and doing so would help them shrink that gap to some degree or another.
Come on Republicans. Do I have to do all your thinking for you?
So what will the GOP do? Will Republicans ride the cannabis reform wave and reap the likely near- and long-term political benefits for doing so? Or will they try to stop reform and get drowned by that same wave? Darned if I know. LOL