Imagine you are a politician. Your aide bursts into your office and declares, "I have a terrific issue for you! In over sixty separate surveys, it consistently polls favorably with voters at two-thirds or better regardless of questioning. It’s never loses an election and, in fact, almost always wins bigger than the Reagan landslide of 1984 (59%/41% Reagan/Mondale). A sizable percentage even base how they vote on it." Picturing your bright political future, you eagerly ask, "What IS this issue?" Your aide replies, "medical marijuana." A silence so quiet settles in your office that you can hear dust rustle in the corner.

The sad fact is that this scenario has likely been repeated in thousands of political offices through out the United States over the past six years. Recently, the legal battle for the right to use cannabis medicinally has shifted from the very successful initiative process to the legislative process. Progress is still slow.

This report illustrates the groundswell of support for the medical use of cannabis, popularly known as marijuana. The report will overview the findings of sixty-six separate public opinion polls on the subject, review many of the questions asked in them, ascertain respondents’ demographics and party affiliation, define the political implications, and illustrate why this issue is so important in the public mind. The public has spoken on the issue of medicinal cannabis. This is what it says.