OPEN LETTER TO CONGRESS (Use it for communicating with your Congressperson if you wish.) Dear Congressperson, Sixty-one percent of American adults believe that “the use of marijuana should be made legal,” according to nationwide polling data provided by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Four in five US adults (81 percent) favor legalizing cannabis as a therapeutic treatment option, according to a 2015 nationwide Harris Poll, and 67 percent of voters believe that states, not the federal government, ought to be the ultimate arbiters of marijuana regulatory policy. MMJ is supported by the majority of Americans. Even flat out legalizing it is favored by a smaller majority of Americans. Here where our representatives stand: Of the 233 Democrats in Congress, 208 members (89%) received a passing grade of a ‘C’ or higher. Of the 302 Republicans in Congress, 102 members (34%) received a passing grade of a ‘C’ or higher. It is clear from this analysis that support for substantive marijuana law reform is far less pronounced among elected officials than it is among the voters they represent. Why doesn’t Congress represent our views as a populace? Not just for MMJ by the way. It is clear that Congress is dragging far behind the US populace in many issues. Is this because a percentage of Congress represents big Pharma instead? Or the DEA refuses to let go of funding using the proceeds of property confiscated and ruining the lives of Americans? Or Congress just isn’t paying attention to research backing the medical uses of MMJ? No one is suggesting making it available to minors, any more than alcohol or cigarettes (the largest killers of Americans of the legal drug list) are. In fact, no one has died as a result of an overdose of MMJ. Not one person. The same cannot be said of opiates prescribed to millions of Americans that they become addicted to. The time for MMJ is upon us. It’s only up to Congress to catch up with the rest of the nation. Please do so. Sincerely, Mick Malkemus, MS Reply