Two recent elections, a New York judge’s personal plea, a new state law and a new public opinion poll demonstrate that a seismic national shift has occurred in political attitudes toward medical marijuana. This cascade of developments dramatically illustrates just how far we’ve come since California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996, and it indicates that our collective compassion is eroding the once-ironclad political will to deny an effective medicine to our sick fellow citizens.
Though it’s been 40 long years since Title IX was passed, discouraging stories continue to pop up all around the country that show that many people just don’t want to implement this groundbreaking law. In 2009, Quinnipiac University in Connecticut decided to cut funding for their Women’s Volleyball team. This put them in direct violation of Title IX, a federal law that requires educational institutions to provide equal opportunities to participate in activities, including sports, for female and male students, and the ACLU of Connecticut sued on behalf of the former coach and women’s volleyball players. But Quinnipiac claimed they weren’t restricting opportunities to women athletes. They claimed compliance with Title IX by triple-counting female cross country runners – who were also on the rosters of track and field teams – even if they didn’t actually compete. And to top it off, they claimed to have replaced volleyball with a suitable alternative: they installed a competitive cheerleading team in its place.
