(The above image of marijuana is from examiner.com.)Two states, Colorado and Washington, have now legalized small quantities of marijuana for recreational use by adults (and other states and cities have decriminalized the possession of marijuana, meaning it will only result in a civil fine and not jail time). The people in the United States are starting to see through the lies about marijuana that their government has been spreading for decades now. The only real questions now are which state will be the next one to legalize the gentle herb, and how long will it be before the federal government follows suit.
Ruben Gallego (Democratic State House Minority Leader) wants that next state to be Arizona. He has announced that he will be introducing a bill that would legalize the possession of one ounce of marijuana by an adult (or the growing of 5 plants). Gallego is trying to take advantage of a Behavior Research Center Poll released last May that showed 56% of the citizens of Arizona favor legalization, while only 37% oppose it (see the chart below).
The problem is that the Republicans control the state government in Arizona, and they will probably kill the bill. They don't really care what the citizens want, and will probably try to pass off their opposition as being religiously-based (although that is ridiculous). But pass or fail, this just shows that the attitudes in this country are changing -- and while it might still take a while, marijuana will eventually be legalized throughout the United States.
