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Members of the Ohio Patient Network (OPN) have repeatedly called upon members off the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate to introduce and pass the Ohio Medical Marijuana Act 2002. While overtures were mostly met with polite silence, a few legislators did volunteer that, if polls showed public support, they might go along.
Like most non-profit organizations, OPN has a limited budget and relies exclusively on volunteers. The group doesn’t have money to pay for polling. However, several group members had been collecting news clippings about medical marijuana polls taken in the past several years. The idea began to gel within the group that this collection could be transformed into a report to vividly illustrate to legislators, the media, and the public how popular and powerful this issue is.
The Ohio Patient Network makes no claim to be unbiased about the therapeutic use of cannabis. In fact, OPN’s position on medical marijuana is made clear in the group’s mission statement:
"The Ohio Patient Network is a coalition of patients, caregivers, medical professionals, concerned citizens and organizations who support the compassionate use of cannabis for various medicinal purposes. Our mission is to disseminate information among patients, caregivers, medical professionals, and attorneys, as well as to educate legislators and the public."
However, the group also believes that accuracy, fact, and science reinforce its position. Medical science is on the side of marijuana, with new therapeutic uses and benefits announced regularly. Now, we can also show that the public by a wide margin is also on the side of medical cannabis. This is why we chose to analyze scientific polling. The facts show clearly that the people have spoken. OPN hopes politicians are listening.
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