The Marijuana Policy Project (www.mpp.org) reports that 55% of polled enrolled members of New York State’s Conservative Party support medical marijuana with 35% opposed See
New York Conservatives Favor Medical Marijuana Bill, Poll Shows
However, the leadership of the Conservative Party is adamantly opposed to medical marijuana.
My own party, the Libertarian Party of New York ( www.ny.lp.org) which I previously chaired, supports both medical marijuana and full legalization. In the Republican Party presidential race, physician and Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) supports medical marijuana (www.RonPaul2008.com).
It is not really suprising to those who actually know many New York Conservatives that they support medical marijuana. It is a little reported fact that the Christian Coalition has endorsed medical marijuana. There is both a philosophical and self-interest component to these unexpected positions. Some conservatives really do believe in individual liberty. Also, many of the people who are active in these two groups, the Christian Coalition and the New York Conservative Party are over 60 and more likely to suffer from cancer. They appreciate the promise of pain relief that medical marijuana offers.
Just as many black Americans diverge from the positions of their self-anointed leaders on issues such as school choice, so too do conservatives differ from their self-anointed leaders on medical marijuana. If only liberals could differ from their self-anointed leaders on issues such as gun control and eminent domain.
Freedom is indivisible. Let’s hope that anti-freedom forces suffer division.
(About the author: Richard Cooper is a international trade executive with a manufacturing firm on Long Island, New York, USA. He is active in the Libertarian Party on eminent domain and other issues. He blogs at mythsmasher.blogspot.com).
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