One interesting question from an Erney, Busher and Associates survey of Franklin County/Columbus, Ohio, voters (#13) published in April 1998 asked, "Marijuana relieves pain for very ill patients. Do you think this statement is True most of the time, True some of the time, or False?" Cumulatively, a surprising 80% (24% True most of the time/ 56% True some of the time) believe this statement is true, while only 20% say it is false. This finding should have an important impact on the medical marijuana movement. It shows that the public believes the reports made by patients and health professionals about marijuana’s medicinal value.

With so much of the public agreeing on the fundamental core of the medical marijuana argument – marijuana does have medicinal value – lawmakers should be the focus to engender a policy shift on this issue. Further, as one of America’s premiere test markets, Columbus, Ohio, is considered by many to be a bellwether for the State of Ohio and even the U.S. because its demographics closely mirror both geographic regions as a whole. This poll reveals the core belief that bolsters the overwhelmingly favorable percentages seen in so many other studies.