Nearly two-thirds of the nearly 800 respondents to the third annual Arkansas Poll conducted by political science professionals at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville answered "yes" when asked, "Do you favor allowing patients to use marijuana for medical purposes if supported by their medical doctor?"

Much surprise, even disbelief, has been expressed by those supposedly all-knowing of the conservative Arkansas psyche. In some minds the finding has made dubious the entire survey.

I am not surprised. I believe. I accept the finding. I trust the poll.

We're a compassionate people. The marijuana issue inherently refers to relief from terminal cancers or debilitating treatments for possibly terminal cancers. But even beyond that, the finding makes perfect sense.

First, as with any poll, one must read the question. This phrasing practically guides the respondent to the affirmative response.

The question had nothing to do with the recreational use of marijuana, of course. That, no doubt, would remain a spectacularly unpopular proposition if anyone bothered to poll it.

Favoring marijuana for medicinal purposes, as the question put it, is no different from favoring morphine for relief from excruciating pain, usually on the death bed. It doesn't mean anyone endorses opium for everyday use.

Second, if there's anything the people of Arkansas identify with, it's a "patient," meaning one afflicted with illness and under a doctor's care. We define ourselves by what ails us.

We in Arkansas lead or nearly lead all national surveys in our unhealthiness. We eat ill-advisedly. We dine on three squares of bad cholesterol daily. We don't take walks because we might miss Jerry Springer, the soaps or the WWF. We lack the infrastructure for prevention. It's not that our rural areas don't have many doctors. It's that they don't even have sidewalks, much less bike paths, hiking trails or public health and fitness facilities.

We compose one of the nation's older populations, and our senior culture is one that takes literally the question, "How ya doin?"

Until the age of 45, give or take, the question is a standard greeting, eliciting the automatic and unthinking response: "Fine. How're you?" In time it becomes an opportunity for reciting one's personal inventory. Don't ask unless you want to know: Oh, my sinuses are acting up, and I'm down in my back, and my feet hurt, and I can't sleep, and my nerves are shot and I'm still having those dizzy spells.

Third, note the question's essential phrase: "supported by their medical doctor."

Amid our unending assertions of chronic physical suffering, the one person we trust more than any other is not our preacher, for he might merely help save our long-term souls. It's our doctor, for he might give us something to stop the immediate hurtin'.

If our doctors told us to jump off the bridge to stop the pain, the splash would drain the Arkansas River.

Our doctor is the one person we trust. And here's the one thing we trust: It's whatever pills the doctor authorizes the guy to sell us at Wal-Mart.

Down in our lower backs? It might be that we're overweight and that our couch-potato posture moves all our muscles over against nerves. Popping a prescribed steroid is easier than a strict diet and daily stretches and exercise.

Our state motto ought to be "In the antibiotic we trust." Tom Brokaw would probably understand. We treat our bodies not as temples, but as battlegrounds between germs and anti-germs.

The only thing that surprises me is that only 63 percent of the respondents said yes to legalizing medicinal marijuana on a doctor's orders. What's wrong with the other 37 percent? Does it not understand that drugs are the answer?

John Brummett

John Brummett is a columnist and reporter for Donrey News in Little Rock.

The Log Cabin Democrat (Conway) 10/30/2001