Why do men support legalizing pot, while women oppose it?

[Nye Bevan]

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/institutes-centers/polling-institute/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=1820


American voters favor the legalization of marijuana, 51 - 44 percent, with a substantial gender and age gap, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

.....

"With the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes legal in about 20 states, and Washington and Colorado voting this November to legalize the drug for recreational use, American voters seem to have a more favorable opinion about this once-dreaded drug," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "There are large differences on this question among the American people.

Men support legalization 59 - 36 percent, but women are opposed 52 - 44 percent. The racial split evident throughout American politics on many matters is barely noticeable on this question with 50 percent of white voters and 57 percent of black voters backing legalization."

Interesting.

[alittlelark]

1. My personal experience is the opposite...

[AverageJoe90]

2. This study really doesn't make a lot of sense.

Yes, I know there's plenty of overprotective soccer moms out there, but since women tend to be more liberal than guys overall, you would think they'd be at least somewhat more in favor of legalization than guys for the most part.....did they sample a whole bunch of Southern Evangelicals or something? Just saying.

[Upton]

12. Other polls have shown similar results..

http://www.gallup.com/poll/150149/record-high-americans-favor-legalizing-marijuana.aspx

[AverageJoe90]

18. Maybe, but this IS Gallup, though.

They wrongly predicted a Romney win this year, remember?

[former9thward]

44. The OP is not Gallup.

[yardwork]

57. That poll indicates that southern conservative Republican women over the age of 50 are against it.

Every other demographic group in the poll is in favor of legalization.

[AverageJoe90]

59. That definitely does make sense.

[sadbear]

3. Wasn't prohibition of alcohol the same, at least in opposite direction?

That is, woman supported prohibition and men opposed it, right?

[Nye Bevan]

7. That would be the same direction (men more libertarian) (nt)

[MNBrewer]

114. Except that men, more than women, oppose marriage equality.

They seem to like to toke up, but want to ban same-gender marriage.... puzzling.

[Matariki]

21. I think it's because temperance groups threw in with the women's suffrage movement

http://prohibition.osu.edu/anti-saloon-league/dry-propaganda/dry-arguments/woman-suffrage

http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=4252

The PEL’s main concern was the proposed Arkansas constitutional amendment for women’s suffrage. Public hearings were held on March 16, 1911, with speakers such as Minnie U. Rutherford, “who made forceful appeals for the [women’s] right to vote.” The amendment passed in the Senate and went on to the House on April 12, 1911. State Representative George L. Grant spoke in favor of the resolution, stating that the enfranchisement of women was long overdue. The House opposition, however, came from the liquor interests, which held that women “should not be contaminated with politics” and that women belonged in the home.

The liquor industry was alarmed by the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). An active organization, the WCTU had supported temperance in Arkansas since 1879 and, since 1888, had viewed women’s suffrage as a way to achieve prohibition. Minnie Rutherford, Lizzie Dorman Fyler, and Clara McDiarmid were among many suffragettes who were members of the WCTU. At the House hearing on the pending legislation for prohibition verses local option, WCTU representative Rutherford spoke on the benefits of a state-wide prohibition law. The women’s suffrage amendment of 1911 ultimately failed.

[Hippo_Tron]

24. Yes, but there was logic to that

Alcohol made abusive husbands more abusive. Pot, if anything, would probably have the opposite effect.

[RKP5637]

113. +1, n/t

[obamanut2012]

51. That ahd to do with women's and children's rights and protection

ie they had no control over wages earned, and there were no DV laws. It was to help stop poverty and abuse. Prohibition doesn't work, of course, but they had a legit reason for hoping and thinking it would.

[Moonwalk]

91. Yes, but there were good if misunderstood reasons women's support of prohibition...

At the time of prohibition, men were, of course, the bread-winners of the family and women and children almost totally reliant on them. Even if the wife worked, laws and customs gave the man the right to the household money. So the women could only buy groceries for the kids if dad handed her the money.

Beer makers, at this time, set up bars right next to factories and such, and made them men's clubs--like a sport's bar. Cheap food, male company--like saloons of old they provided games, entertainment, etc. So the hard working guys get their paycheck, walks right into the bar, spends it all on booze, and there's none for the wife and kids--these are poor people, no social safety nets. So no money for food, clothes, rent. And in addition, dad comes home drunk. And, of course, many of these men, when drunk, beat their wives and kids and there were no laws against this. It was considered a private matter between a husband and wife.

With little understanding about addiction and alcoholism, the only option the women saw to save themselves and their kids was to try get rid of these bars and the liquor they sold and, thus, they hoped, dry out the husbands or at least keep the husband's pay from being spent on liquor. Check out Ken Burn's documentary on prohibition. The reason why women were so all-fire in favor of it were very understandable.

Marijuana is hardly the same. It is illegal and the question is to make it legal, not vice versa. And what happened with prohibition is a good way to show how the product could actually be better if legalized (taxed, regulated) than if kept as an illegal, black market item. I see no reason why women wouldn't be as much in favor of it as men outside of the fact that smoking pot together is a very "guy" thing.

[maxsolomon]

4. Women by and large favored prohibition, also.

Maybe they see too many men fucking up because of drugs & alcohol?

[crazyjoe]

5. maybe men like to get stoned and rape?

[sadbear]

6. You know, that was always my first thought when I used to get stoned in college.

Unfortunately, there were only other dudes around at the time.

[TheManInTheMac]

14. Oh, no, you did NOT go there, dude!

[Ken Burch]

32. Actually, getting stoned would generally make those guys fall asleep and forget about raping.

[Jackpine Radical]

38. Yes, but pillaging a pizza parlor--

That's another story.

[cbayer]

8. I would guess that it sometimes has to do with being mothers.

Mothers may be more concerned about dispensaries near schools or their kids experimenting too early.

[Warren Stupidity]

69. Then mothers would generally be idiots.

The local black market for marijuana is in the school, not "near" it.

[Adsos Letter]

81. I think you've got a point here.

I do, I do.

[PlanetBev]

9. Beats the hell out of me

Was introduced to Wacky Tabacky in 1967 by my high school friends, and I still partake from time to time. Whoever these women are, I've sure never met them.

[BeyondGeography]

10. Men smoke it more and are far more likely to be arrested/imprisoned

Just a guess.

[Incitatus]

15. That's been my experience.

Men are more likely to smoke it. Women are also more likely to be turned off by cigarettes so I guess the same could be true of pot. Being concerned about their kids falling into it might also be a factor. Although, when I was a minor getting marijuana was a lot easier than getting alcohol.

[tridim]

30. I've always suspected that male and female endocannabinoid systems are slightly different

A natural imbalance in one sex would explain the disparity. The ratio is about 5:1 M:F in my circles.

It would be nice if it were legal to study this hypothesis.

[SomethingFishy]

64. My wife used to smoke until she hit menopause...

After that it didn't affect her the same way and she gave it up... You are probably onto something there...

[Aerows]

97. I'm female

and I don't like the way it makes me feel. I think you are probably on to something with that hypothesis.

[tridim]

99. I know several females who actually throw up when they smoke

If your body says no, you obviously shouldn't use it. That's why I don't drink (much).

Cannabis is fascinating. As far as I can tell it's the only herb that has self-titration properties built in.

[Aerows]

125. I got horrible

anxiety attacks when I tried it, which is why I don't like it. I didn't throw up, but I felt like I was going to, and thought I was having a heart attack.

Not a good experience for me. I don't judge others if they enjoy it, but I do not, at all.

[Eleanors38]

133. Anxiety is a common side-effect, esp. for new or infrequent

users. Anxiety usually passes after one has smoked a number of occasions. I've used for 40+ yrs, and it is effective for nausea, dampening strepp throat, etc. Medical use is altered when alcohol is consumed; not recommended. Moderation is good. Bought 1/4 oz in July -- still going on it!

[Aerows]

134. I ate a jar of peanut butter

afterwards. LOL. I would have eaten the spoon, too, were it not made of metal.

[Eleanors38]

143. I prefer a bag of Hershey Almond Kisses. No instrumentality.

[Aerows]

145. I love peanut butter

even when I am not under the effects of substances, so it truly isn't a surprise I hit the peanut butter jar hard like a cannon .

I also love pistachios, and eat them like candy. I guess I'm a nut if you are what you eat.

[cherish44]

11. I dunno...my own personal experience is I know more guys who "partake" than I know women who do...

So maybe these women have just never been stoned? ..only reason I can think of

[Tikki]

13. When it's legal, I guess it will be their right, but I have seen really intelligent people get...

all stupid and goofy and paranoid when smoking pot.
Yes, same for other drugs and alcohol, but it still breaks my heart.
I can stay away from them, for sure...as long as they are not driving any kind of vehicle.

Tikki...a lady.

[AverageJoe90]

19. Yeah, it does happen.

I'm usually a pretty mellow fellow(LOL, it rhymes! :rofl but I do occasionally find myself looking over my shoulder.....might be the only reason I may hesitate to start partaking in the weed.

[Michigan Alum]

96. I got paranoid when I used to smoke. But I still support legalization for many reasons.

I'm not going to rain on anybody's parade just because I have an issue.

[kestrel91316]

16. That's not what I have observed. It's been my experience that

more men than women are of the authoritarian mindset that says, "Obey all laws whether fair or rational or not, because they are laws".

[Taverner]

17. What women are YOU hanging out with?

Of course, I don't make it a habit of hanging out with the Biz Net Minders...

[liberal_at_heart]

20. I don't know about all women but for me

I was more willing to do things like that before I became a mother. I became very cautious when I became a mother. I didn't want to go to jail and I didn't want my husband to go to jail. My kids are almost grown now and I am learning how to relax a little and learn how to do a few more fun things that I want to do that I was too cautious to do before.

[Chemisse]

47. That made me a lot more cautious too. But I'm not sure why there would be a connection between

legalizing pot and caution. In fact, a woman could breathe easier, knowing she wouldn't be arrested or have her home confiscated because of a few pot plants in the back yard.

[We are Devo]

22. Maybe

we don't want to deal with stupid, stoned men

[pegasis]

27. Amen

[RedCappedBandit]

36. Then don't. nt

[Earth_First]

40. Oh, haha teehee...oh, teh stoopid man analogy!

DU's meme du jour!

[Chemisse]

50. So why wouldn't the men be against it because they didn't want to deal with stoned, stupid women?

[SomethingFishy]

67. BWhahahahahaha... funny stuff...

Maybe that's why you are sitting alone in front of your computer. Now pardon me my wife and I are off to see Lincoln. Have fun without the stupid stoned men..

[JVS]

23. Wctu ethos never died off completely

[Blue_In_AK]

25. HUH???

I'm a woman and I've been in favor of legalizing pot since 1967.

[Chemisse]

48. Me too - LOL!

[countryjake]

90. Me three!

[Kurska]

26. Nosy mother syndrome many women have it.

Sometimes "it isn't any of your damn business what I put into my body" is a hard argument to process.

[DevonRex]

41. Hey. I'd rather my kids smoke pot than drink.

So there.

[Kath1]

140. Amen to that.

My 24 year-old daughter smokes. I have no problem with it at all.

[LeftInTX]

28. Concerns that their kids will smoke pot

Women tend to be more cautious.
Ask my husband about that one.

[Smilo]

29. Hmmm not where I am

women want their weed too.

[randome]

31. I hate to sound nouveau politically correct but maybe it's true.

Woman are smarter than men?

[RedCappedBandit]

37. So the smarter you are, the more likely you'll be against weed?

[Chemisse]

53. That doesn't make sense. The arguments to legalize it are logical.

The arguments against it are frequently brainless and impassioned.

So if women were smarter, we would all be for legalizing pot.

[randome]

55. Maybe the smarter you are, the more likely you'll have something better to do with your time?

Women -in general, mind you- are more aware of their children's health.

I'm all for decriminalization and for medical marijuana but I think full legalization will either be a mistake or a big fizzle. People are more health conscious these days.

And yes, I'm aware that marijuana does not need to be smoked but I'm sure you're aware that most people would opt to smoke it rather than take the time to bake it or vaporize it.

[RedCappedBandit]

60. It will be a big fizzle.

Because everybody who wants to smoke marijuana is already doing so. In general, mind you.

That's not exactly a compelling argument for the continued war on some drugs.



Anyway, I think the statement that more intelligent people have better things to do is just pretentious.

Live and let live. Doesn't matter if smoking is bad for you. You have no right to dictate to others what they put in their lungs. If you choose to be health conscious, great, I'm very happy for you.

For the record, I very much dislike marijuana.

[randome]

62. Sure, I see your point.

But being worried about everyone else's health is sort of the province of the government, not me or you. It's government regulations we depend on to protect us from poisonous food and to promote the general health and welfare.

That's why they put such graphic warnings on cigarettes and alcohol.

I am very much in favor of the so-called 'War on Drugs' -when it's directed against heroin and cocaine, etc.

And I've already said I'm in favor of decriminalization for marijuana.

But yeah, perhaps I came across as pretentious.

[Kurska]

72. "High IQ linked to drug use"

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/14/high-iq-linked-to-drug-use/

http://personal.lse.ac.uk/Kanazawa/pdfs/RGP2010.pdf

Keep in mind no one is saying drug use causes high IQ, most people believe that intelligence causes openess to experience which causes people to be willing to experiment with drugs.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

82. Huh?

Just because one has other issues they care about more doesn't mean they have to hold a contrary opinion. No one asked them "Will you crusade to legalize it?"

I'm sure there are many women who favor gay marriage who will never have one because they're straight.

[randome]

100. Good point.

[countryjake]

89. Whatever makes you think that we voted to legalize it...

only because we want to use it?

I do not do any drugs, but (and I say this as a mother), I see no reason whatsoever for anyone's offspring to be run pell-mell thru a skewed justice system and thrown into the hell that is this country's penal system, possibly to have their future severely damaged and definitely to have their life options limited, simply because they enjoyed a little toke now and then.

Mothers with sons and daughters wasting away in prison sometimes are even more acutely aware of their children's health than those who haven't a clue!

[randome]

101. Decriminalization would stop the incarceration rate, too.

I agree with you, it makes no sense to put someone in jail for possession of marijuana.

[Le Taz Hot]

92. The cool thing about smart people who indulge in the ganja?

We can multi-task.

This morning I woke up, had my coffee and ganja. I went grocery shopping, did several loads of laundry, read "Team of Rivals" in between loads and paid some bills. Made some kick-ass marinara for pizza today and lasagna tomorrow and made more chicken stock for soups I'm going to be making this weekend. Took a few hits in between. See? Wasn't hard at all.

[waddirum]

137. can I come over?

I'll bring desert.

[Le Taz Hot]

138. . . .

"thumbsup:

[Warren DeMontague]

93. Hmm. How about, we have 'something better to do' with the $60 Billion a year we spend "fighting" it?

or, we 'have something better to do' with all the prison space we're currently filling up with non-violent drug offenders?

Look, I don't do anything, anymore- nothing stronger than caffeine (and you'll pry that one from my cold dead hands thankyouverymuch) and alcohol, in particular.. let's say the tempestuous relationship we once had ended amicably, but for a set of REAL good reasons.

That said, what consenting adults do with their own bodies is their business, not mine, as long as they're not harming or endangering others. Alcohol prohibition doesn't work, and alcohol is far and away a much more deadly, dangerous, asshole-inducing drug than pot could ever be.

It should be legalized, regulated, and taxed to boot. No question.

[Kurska]

46. Prohibition is the opposite of intelligence. n/t

[randome]

58. Heroin is prohibited. So is cocaine. I'd rather it stay that way.

But marijuana should be decriminalized across the country. It's not worthy of a jail sentence.

[SomethingFishy]

61. So first you post that Women are smarter then men because

they don't favor legalization then you post that you favor decriminalization.....

[randome]

65. They're two different possible outcomes.

Decriminalization implies that it's officially discouraged. I like that because official discouragement has driven the use of tobacco way down.

I like that. A more health conscious populace and way less second-hand smoke to poison the air.

[RedCappedBandit]

84. Tobacco

is not decriminalized. Why is it treated differently?

Your very own argument, in fact, implies that decriminalization is NOT necessary.

[NYC Liberal]

94. "Decriminalization" means that people still have to go to shady, unlicensed, unregulated dealers,

who may also be pushing "harder" drugs. It means kids will be able to do the same thing.

A legitimate business with a license has a lot to lose by jeopardizing that license. A drug dealer on the street is already breaking the law, and thus has little to no incentive not to maximize profit by selling to kids and selling other, harder drugs like cocaine and heroin.

Decriminalization makes things even worse, not better, because it solves one problem (imprisoning people for consuming a natural substance) without solving the other (the fact that people have to go to shady unregulated dealers or cartels to get it).

[Kurska]

66. Countries that decriminalize heroin and cocaine like Portugal do not have increased use.

Hey it turns out just making something legal to have doesn't make people who don't want to do it in the first place suddenly start doing it.

But go ahead and keep stigmatizing people over it and throwing them it jail, that has totally worked. On the plus side, you can keep funneling money to third world terrorist organizations instead of just regulating it.

I'd never use either of those, but I have no idea why someone thinks what other people do with their body is their business.

[randome]

70. Heroin and cocaine can affect more than just the user.

And Portugal is a much smaller country with a much smaller population. I think that makes it easier to support legalization of harder drugs.

I think you'd have a hard time convincing a majority of people that ANYTHING a person wants to do is okay. Bath salts, for instance?

[Kurska]

75. Tell me, why exactly would country size matter? Just guessing or got any evidence to back that up?

Also do you have any idea what bath salts actually are? They aren't some hardcore hallucinogenic, they are just designer drug stimulants. They are uppers, they perk you up and give you energy. The media completely blew them out of proportion just like "reefer madness" in the 20's and the acid craze in the 70's and people ate it up.

Are you afraid that if bath salts were made legal you couldn't keep from doing them? Oh no, I'm sure you trust yourself to make those decisions but everyone else they need to be told.

[Warren Stupidity]

76. Prohibitionists rattle off torrents of bullshit.

You have two separate bullshit streams there.

1. Somehow Portugal's size invalidates the real data from their experiment. Well since you are working backwards from your assumption that prohibition is the right policy, you have to reject actual data that indicates that this is simply false, so best to go with a total non-sequitur.

2. Bath salts. When all other arguments fail, bring on the boogeyman. As long as there is a black market for banned and relatively safe (or at least with well understood toxicity) substances there will be schemes to develop new analog replacements that avoid regulation. Designer drugs like "bath salts" are the direct consequence of prohibition.

We've tried your failed nonsense for 40 years. We have more people in our prisons than any other nation. Your policies have directly wrecked the lives of millions of people. How about enough is enough?

[Kurska]

79. Bravo, lets start treating people like they are adults and maybe they will act like it.

A novel idea I know.

[Comrade Grumpy]

129. The Mexican cartels and the Taliban agree with you.

They love the big bucks they earn through drug prohibition.

[Honeycombe8]

68. "College degreed" whites "yes" for maryjane outweighed "no." So it's not education. nt

[randome]

71. Depends on what you mean by education, perhaps.

My daughters have given me quite an education.

[Honeycombe8]

73. The poll said "college degree." Everyone receives a non-college degreed education called life. nt

[Romulox]

102. If it's not already clear, this guy is just an attention seeker. He won't read any studies.

He won't respond to any logic.

He HAS been corrected in his misinformation many times.

[randome]

105. Studies like this, maybe?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2012/09/10/science-shows-smoking-pot-raises-risk-of-testicular-cancer-schizophenia-and/

I'm all for decriminalization but I think the 'health' benefits of marijuana are, to say the least, overstated.

[Romulox]

109. Right. Studies published in FORBES magazine are what is needed to shed light here.

You aren't fooling anybody.

[Oilwellian]

119. Ya think?

I know men and women who become much more creative, particularly in the arts, after partaking a little herb. It saddens me to see a fellow liberal use a sexist remark, and suggest there is a level of intelligence involved where smoking herb is concerned. To suggest your position is "nouveau politically correct" is over the top. It's sexist, period, and shows an ignorance of a far more complex subject. I hope you rethink your offensive comment.

[randome]

121. It was meant as a sarcastic remark. It's the first thing that came to mind.

No, I truly don't believe women are smarter than men or vice-versa. But being a single father with two daughters, I have more appreciation for wanting my children to be 'safe'. In other words, looking beyond one's own personal use and seeing how it affects others. Women -in general, again- are more socially aware than men.

I know 'safe' is a relative term and I know my daughters will experiment with alcohol and probably drugs. I've told them I'm not forbidding anything.

I've also told them, like Frank Zappa said to his daughter, that if they want to experiment with drugs, I want them to do it in our house.

And, like Frank Zappa, I think drug use is to be discouraged. He actually fired band members who used drugs. Of course he also smoked cigarettes like a smokestack so...

[RainDog]

33. Women are still the primary caregivers of children, for the most part

And their views on issues often times extend to their concern about their children. They often have a mistaken idea that illegality will help keep something away from their children.

It's easier not to think about the issue and go with assurances from authority figures. Adult females in traditional roles have more deference for authority figures than adult males.

Females gestate babies and scare stories about mj are out there - tho so are studies that dispute such views. Men don't consider this when they think about ingesting something, usually.

More women attend religious services than men, and thus hear more conservative views of the world.

The Victorian view of women as the one who upholds "moral order" in the world is still strong in society. Women have no real gain to be made to put themselves in a position to be separated from their kids because of something like marijuana, for the most part. For those who receive medical benefit, however, that's not the case.

The cultural stereotype of mj users and stoners isn't the sort of model most mothers want their children to associate with their pov. But, again, that stereotype is the one that plays in the media. It's really not very funny to me, but it is to some people and it's a form of anti-mj propaganda for the media.

Women have heard the moral arguments and not the financial ones - and, if they're thinking about their children, money doesn't trump their fear of their children's well being.

I'm a woman but I support legalization of mj and, frankly, all drugs - if those drugs can be regulated and dispensed to addicts with ways to help them receive treatment. That's because I spent some time learning about the issue - but even when I had not been around marijuana for years, I always, during that time, thought it should at least be decriminalized, even if I didn't want to have anything to do with it.

But I am also a non-religious female and identify as a liberal/libertarian rather than a liberal/social conservative. Again, women take on social conservatism as a role, often, because they think they are doing the right thing.

But you can talk about these things logically with women. Over time, they'll come around if they pay attention to what's happening now.

[abelenkpe]

34. This mom

would rather that it be legal. If my kids are going to grow up and experiment I'd rather it be legal than have them end up in jail for smoking a bowl and vegging out with their friends. Also legal means it's out in the open and not something they would need to sneak off somewhere to do.

just sayin'

[Sadiedog]

87. And this mom completely agrees with your logic! NT

[Nay]

88. This grandma agrees completely. nt

[Posteritatis]

35. Apparently 48 percent of women don't count as women?

I hate headlines like that. Ugh. First-past-the-post is how it works in elections, not broad public opinions.

[DevonRex]

39. I'm a woman and I voted for it in Colorado

and have a MMJ card.

[Kath1]

139. Good for you, DevonRex.

I think it is wrong that you must have a card. It should be legalized. Period.

[gollygee]

42. I have a theory

Just based on my experience, more teenage/college aged young men use it than teenage/college aged young women, and therefore more men know it isn't anything to be afraid of than women.

I think younger use is much higher than post-college age use. And if fewer women have experience with it, they might believe more of the scare propaganda out there just because they don't have the actual experience to prove otherwise.

OTOH I've never used it and I'm fine with it being legal. But this stuff is based on trends, not individuals.

But again, just a theory based on limited experience.

[OldDem2012]

43. I wonder what the results of the poll would be if alcohol was substituted for marijuana?....

....Especially since, in my opinion, and despite being legal, alcohol has far worse effects on the human body and mind than pot. And yes, I base my opinion on the fact that I've experienced both and witnessed the effects of both on people around me.

One final question, and I didn't see any breakdown on how the poll was conducted, how many of those polled were polled via cell phone as opposed to land line? Would cell phone users be more or less likely to be opposed to pot?

[former9thward]

45. If you wanted to see those results all you had to do is clink on the link in the OP.

From November 28 - December 3, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,949 registered voters nationwide, with a margin of error of +/- 2.2 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.

[OldDem2012]

52. My question was "how many of those polled were polled via cell phone as opposed to land line?"...

...I asked my original question because the data I was seeking wasn't at that link.

I didn't see that breakdown, did you?

[former9thward]

78. And you won't see that in any poll.

[OldDem2012]

80. Oh, okay. Riiiigggghhhtttt. LOL!! nt.

[obamanut2012]

49. THat has not been my experience

And, women support it close to the same rate as men do, as per your own OP.

[Zorra]

98. +1 nt

[Recursion]

54. I have no data, but I don't personally know any men who support unemployed stoner girlfriends...

...while I know a few couples where the reverse happens.

[FrodosPet]

95. We obviously run in different circles

I can think of three off the top of my head.

Who needs a job when the old man is out there painting houses/fixing cars/driving a tow truck?

In one particularly infuriating case, having $1500 a month of baby's dead daddy money to go along with hubby's 50 hours a week plus side jobs paycheck is a big help as well.

Most people seem to believe the money is SUPPOSED to go to take care of the kids, but Hey! A woman needs to relax with a few Vicodin and Somas after dealing with all the defiant people who are up in her business and won't do what they are told.

[rzemanfl]

56. Fear of the munchies? n/t

[jberryhill]

63. I forget. Hang on, I think my wife knows where we put that

[upi402]

74. Meltable lizards?

But seriously, I'm surprised by that. Thanks!

[TheProgressive]

77. Who cares?

[njcamden_25884]

83. huh?

not really sure about what you're talking about.

[Nye Bevan]

85. Half the people I was with believed it until I explained the situation to them (nt)

[moondust]

86. Lethargy?

[Romulox]

103. Occam's razor: the criminal justice system isn't persecuting women over marijuana.

So they care a whole lot less.

[randome]

106. So maybe the question is why do men smoke marijuana in much greater numbers than women?

Or do they? Seems like attempts to determine use by gender are hard to come by.

[Romulox]

107. Nobody should have to come up with a reason NOT to be persecuted by authoritarians.

[randome]

108. True. I'm just curious as to whether or not there is a gender divide.

But you're right, in the end it should not matter.

[Romulox]

110. As I said, the link can be right there, in the OP, and you won't read it.

There is no point in providing links to a person who has proven incapable of reading anything but his own posts.

[randome]

112. I'm talking about users of marijuana, not those who support legalization.

Unless I'm missing something in the OP, that's not part of the survey.

[Romulox]

115. If you want to start a different thread on a different topic, YOU research it.

The facts aren't on your side, so I can see the appeal of changing the subject.

[ieoeja]

120. What do you believe is randome's "side"?

randome made a comment about women being smarter than men which I took tongue in cheek. My first thought was, in fact, to do the reverse and say this is proof that men are smarter than women. But we do have DUers with zero sense of humor on their pet outrages.

randome supports legalization.

randome wonders if men smoke marijuna more than women (they do).

I don't see a "side" in here anywhere.

[Comrade Grumpy]

131. Randome supports decriminalization, not legalization.

But I think Randome is mainly just irritated by pot people.

[randome]

132. Right on the first point. Wrong on the second.

I'm not 'irritated' since no one in my social circles (that I know of) uses drugs of any sort. And no, I'm not talking about some church-supported sewing circle.

But Frank Zappa was irritated by drug users. So much so that he fired band members who used. I would prefer marijuana remain illegal but I'm not going to stand in the way of anyone who uses it. Same way when I have someone over who smokes. They just take it outside.

[Romulox]

111. In fact, there are several posts with links, upthread, to which you have failed to respond.

As I said, it's not a convincing schtick.

For example, you avoided commenting on the below to post your "I wonder..." style inanities:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1939623

[randome]

117. I'm not really trying to 'convince' you of anything.

I doubt anything I post here will have an affect on your personal life. I'm just laying out my thoughts on the subject.

I'm not responding to every single post in this thread. I don't always have the background or knowledge to KNOW how to respond. One of the links you refer to also mention a highly intelligent woman who became addicted to heroin.

So maybe I'm wrong about women being smarter than men or that being 'smart' means you are less likely to use drugs. But I think it's clear that drug use, even among the highly intelligent, can have drastic consequences.

[Romulox]

118. Right. But discussion on this board usually rises above the level of Peggy Hill's musings.

You can hold any opinion you like. But where, as here, you assert that opinion, over and over, you have no right not to be contradicted with the facts.

[MADem]

104. I wonder what the MOE is on that poll? It might be closer to fifty fifty, depending.

I think it's an evolving issue--the trick is to get the "over sixty five" crowd onboard.

Every time a senior learns of the benefits of medicinal mj to treat this ailment or that terminal illness, the tide shifts a bit, I think.

[cliffordu]

116. Because men don't want to program the VCR when they're stoned???

KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!

[bettyellen]

123. or watch the kids. This is about Moms.

[patrice]

122. I don't know the meaning of statements like that, because the definition of "legalize" is

not clear. There are at least several different ways legalization could be configured.

Maybe men tend to have more "survival of the fittest" or "let them sink or swim and they'll learn about the world better that way" principles and women are more concerned about failure in the context in which legalization would occur, including factors such as the almost complete absence of any kind of help/counseling/remediation for problems that are already out there, without factoring in cannabis, and which problems include systemic issues such as the fact that children are being socialized, not by families, but because of the absence of full-time, or appropriate, parenting (not necessarily just in their own families, but certainly in the families of their children's cohort), they consider the possibility of failure to be significantly higher in ways that are not acceptable, because all problems including new potential problems are less under their own control and more due to what other people are or are not doing with/about/for problems with their own kids.

An obvious example of this kind of concern is the age at which any person is first introduced to drugs (of any kind) and alcohol. The earlier, the more vulnerable to substance abuse a person will be. My nieces are telling me that their children are encountering cannabis, completely WITHIN THEIR OWN SOCIAL GROUPS, on a regular basis here in Cupcake Land.

A related question could also be: how many children are already predisposed to vulnerabilities toward substance abuse by the status-quo widespread and long-standing use of prescribed psychotropic medications of various kinds to manage child behavior problems, so that parents can work and socialize, without any more restriction other than finding child care (which child care, btw, has absolutely no power to say or do anything about behaviorally at-risk children because to do so would cost them business). So, everyone just takes a pill for whatever and they never identify the personal adaptations that add up to autonomous-behavior-no-matter-what other influences they encounter.

And, then, those other influences include things, such as alcohol, that further biologically poison one's ability to remain autonomous, so when they might have had more reason to recognize their own dysfunction (because they are out and away from their parent's roof), it's too late and getting free again is significantly harder in ways that our culture further exacerbates, without providing any authentic support for real adaptation & learning other than the false-teachings of mutual self-admiration candy shops called churches.

[patrice]

124. In short, it's the FAMILIES, dummy & women have different family responsibilities than men do. nt

[patrice]

126. Is there a case to be made for how illegality is making cannabis more available to children?

And women, because of their different roles in middle-class culture, know more about that threat?

Look at the tv. We are an infantilized culture. We have less than fully developed people raising other younger less than fully developed people.

Yes, ultimately, individuals should be strong enough to grow, but there are some absolutely over-whelming things going on in our culture, because of economic slavery to corporations. It's all become a vicious circle now, the vulnerabilities reinforcing vulnerabilities and women are sensitive to vulnerability in ways that most men are not.

[robinlynne]

127. there is something that irks me. Not with your OP, but in general.

The sentence saying men support 59-36%, etc. should be preceded by a phrase saying: in a poll conducted in X states, polling X number of people on X date, X percent of who were women, and X percent of whom were men, using X methodology for random sampling, it was found that:

Things are spewed out as fact. It used to be that the parameters of a survey were part of the information. If 1000 people were surveyed, it doesn't really say much. If 50,000 people were surveyed it says more. if the survey was conducted by phone at 3 in the afternoon, most of the respondents don't work, and on and on. People now make blanket statements as fact, without disclosing what the parameters were.

I've noticed this with regards to everything. In this particular case, I'm sure the parameters are in there because it came from a polling institute.
but we know that they way questions are asked, etc. will determine the outcome. And those parameters are rarely mentioned anymore.

[limpyhobbler]

128. "I don't want my husband getting stoned and playing crappy acoustic guitar all the time?"

Maybe that's the reasoning behind it.

[tridim]

135. Maybe your husband just sucks at acoutic guitar?

[limpyhobbler]

136. LOL probably

I was just speculating as to the rational behind this gender gap, not offering my own opinion. Personally I think smoking weed does make my acoustic guitar far more better.

[Major Nikon]

130. Fuck legal. It should be mandatory for Republicans

Anyone who wants to register Republican would need to present their MJ certification along with their proof of ID.

[forestpath]

141. I'm a woman who thinks it should be legal. And I've never smoked it in my life, nor would I.

It stinks and I can't stand smoke.

[Berserker]

142. I find that to be strange

As women will follow you around like a puppy if you have cocaine on you. As many years ago I found this to be a fact not just speculation.

[Faux pas]

146. Is this a gallup poll? Over half

my female friends smoke.