Yep, this is one issue that brings red states and blue states together – even though West Virginia is a strange kind of peuce. The latest poll (pdf) finds that West Virginians favor medical marijuana by 57 – 34 percent (it was 53 – 40 a year ago); they believe pot is less harmful than alcohol by 44 – 24 percent; and there’s a small minority to legalize it altogether (46 – 44). If almost twice as many people in West Virginia believe booze is more dangerous than pot, how do the Prohibitionists hope to win?
Update from a reader:
Color me unsurprised. It’s not well known, but marijuana has a long history in Mountaineer country. You can read some of it in this fun NY Times piece from 1991. The town in the piece, Moorefield, is where my parents met and married in the early 1970s. They were back-to-the-landers and of course that crowd smoked their share, but they weren’t the first. For quite a few old and lifelong residents it was just part of life, and one of many useful plants that could be gathered for free in the woods and river bottoms. The blueberries are excellent, too.
The Dish 