by: Ethan A. Huff – Natural News –
The somewhat surprising results of a new survey recently conducted by Public Policy Polling, one of the nation’s premier research groups, have once again realigned the national conversation on marijuana reform, especially in the South. A whopping 54 percent of Georgia voters, it turns out, are now in support of full cannabis legalization, while an overwhelming 62 percent agree that, at the very least, the plant needs to be decriminalized.
According to the figures, the attitude toward marijuana in the Peach State is now on par with that of Colorado, which on January 1 opened up its first recreational cannabis retail stores to individuals 21 years of age and older. Colorado’s Amendment 64 referendum, as you may recall, passed with a 55 percent majority vote, which means that the level of support for legalizing marijuana in Georgia is virtually the same as that of Colorado, signifying that major changes are soon to occur.
“The citizens of Georgia agree, marijuana prohibition is a wasteful and destructive policy,” stated Sharon Ravert, Executive Director of the Peachtree chapter of the cannabis advocacy group NORML, in response to the findings. “It is time for our state to catch up with public opinion and find a more sensible solution to the status quo.”
Conservative Christian politicians also coming around to support marijuana legalization
There has been a major push in Georgia recently to reform the state’s oppressive marijuana laws, or even scrap them altogether, and much of this support is coming from those you might not expect. WSB-TV in Atlanta reports that several prominent, conservative lawmakers, for instance, are now in full support of compassionate medical marijuana laws that would both eliminate the penalties associated with possession and use and allow for legal access to the plant.
