Surveys seeking positions on medical marijuana are widely disseminated in first-of-its-kind voter education campaign

Posted by on October 09, 2014

Washington, DC -- The medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) has produced a new 30-second online advertisement to launch its survey drive for for this year's election-cycle educational campaign. The ad will also air on this Sunday's morning cable news programs in Detroit, Philadelphia, Sacramento, South Florida, and Washington State. As part of its groundbreaking "Vote Medical Marijuana" campaign, ASA has sent out more than 2,000 candidate surveys to help patients and the general public make more informed electoral decisions based on candidates' positions on medical marijuana.

More than 100 candidates in federal and state races across the country have sent in responses so far. The "Vote Medical Marijuana" campaign will focus on as many as 435 U.S. House races, 36 U.S. Senate races, 36 gubernatorial races, and 31 state attorney general races, as well as more than 360 state legislative races in California, Florida, and Washington.

"We want to better educate supporters and the general public about casting their ballot for candidates who have their best interests in mind," said ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer. "We hope this outreach effort will show our country’s leading politicians how significant medical marijuana is to their election campaigns."  The "Vote Medical Marijuana" campaign will also include an interactive online tool at VoteMedicalMarijuana.org, which provides voting records and a report card for each Member of Congress. Responses to the latest surveys will be added to the site by October 16th.

The "Vote Medical Marijuana" surveys include questions such as, "Do you believe that patients using marijuana for medicinal reasons under the recommendation of their physician should be protected from arrest and prosecution under state law?" and "Should medical marijuana patients or their designated caregiver be allowed to cultivate marijuana for the patient's therapeutic use?" and "Should medical marijuana patients or their designated caregiver be allowed to purchase medical marijuana...from retail storefront locations?"

Earlier this year, ASA ran TV advertisements under the banner of "Vote Medical Marijuana" in Congressional districts in Florida, Maryland, and Washington State. The ads informed constituents how members of the House voted on an important issue affecting medical marijuana patients. ASA will continue to run educational ads as well as produce additional targeted ads in certain Congressional districts where elected officials voted for or against the advancement of medical marijuana.

For more than a decade, polls have consistently shown that more than 80 percent of Americans support legal access to medical marijuana, but that popular support is not commonly reflected in the way that elected officials have voted on this issue. "Vote Medical Marijuana" is designed to help bring the stance of politicians more in line with public opinion.

Further information:
"Vote Medical Marijuana" campaign advertisement: http://www.safeaccessnow.org/vote_medical_marijuana_tv_ads

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