Pubdate: Sun, 30 Jun 2013
Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
Copyright: 2013 The Associated Press
Contact: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/sendaletter.html
Website: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24
Authors: Alicia A. Caldwell and Nancy Benac, Associated Press

MARIJUANA'S MARCH TOWARD MAINSTREAM CONFOUNDS FEDS

WASHINGTON (AP) - It took 50 years for American attitudes about 
marijuana to zigzag from the paranoia of "Reefer Madness" to the 
excesses of Woodstock back to the hard line of "Just Say No."

The next 25 years took the nation from Bill Clinton, who famously 
"didn't inhale," to Barack Obama, who most emphatically did.

Now, in just a few short years, public opinion has moved so 
dramatically toward general acceptance that even those who champion 
legalization are surprised at how quickly attitudes are changing and 
states are moving to approve the drug - for medical use and just for fun.

It is a moment in America that is rife with contradictions:

People are looking more kindly on marijuana even as science reveals 
more about the drug's potential dangers, particularly for young people.

States are giving the green light to the drug in direct defiance of a 
federal prohibition on its use.

Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have legalized the use 
of marijuana for medical purposes since California voters made the 
first move in 1996.

Voters in Colorado and Washington state took the next step last year 
and approved pot for recreational use.

Alaska is likely to vote on the same question in 2014, and a few 
other states are expected to put recreational use on the ballot in 2016.

Nearly half of adults have tried marijuana, 12 percent of them in the 
past year, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.

Fifty-two percent of adults favor legalizing marijuana, up 11 
percentage points just since 2010, according to Pew.

Sixty percent think Washington shouldn't enforce federal laws against 
marijuana in states that have approved its use.

The next chapter in this story is being written in Colorado and 
Washington state.

Policymakers there are grappling with all sorts of sticky issues 
revolving around one central question: How do you legally regulate 
the production, distribution, sale and use of marijuana for 
recreational purposes when federal law bans all of the above?

The Justice Department began reviewing the matter after last 
November's election.

But seven months later, states still are on their own.

Both sides in the debate paid close attention when Obama said in 
December that "it does not make sense, from a prioritization point of 
view, for us to focus on recreational drug users in a state that has 
already said that under state law that's legal."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom