# When Will Marijuana Be Legalized in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 13, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663 "2009-10-13T15:56:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/1 "2009-10-13T15:56:03Z")
This is a poll about _when_ or _if_ marijuana will be legalized in the US, and not about whether or not it _should or should not_ be legalized. I’ve heard that, with Obama in the White House and Democrat majorities in both houses, that we are closer than ever to legalization. Even though he’s not made legalization a part of his official agenda (and of course he has bigger things on his plate), I’ve caught wind of a couple of pundits speculating that this is something he’s thinking about. This may be too much of a hot-button issue for Obama’s first term, but for a second-term issue it seems viable, at least IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/2 "2009-10-13T16:13:24Z")
There will always be something more important to spend his political capital on. Too bad, but it ain’t gonna happen, Decriminalize, maybe, but not legal. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/3 "2009-10-13T16:53:28Z")
I can’t imagine it ever happening. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/4 "2009-10-13T16:55:11Z")
He is the first US President who has admitted that he used marijuana: “Of course I inhaled. That was the point.” That honest admission completely defused the controversy, and as far as I know, it never came up as a serious issue during the campaign. I think this is something that both liberals and genuine “keep government out of my private life” conservatives can agree upon. I voted “before the end of his second term”. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/5 "2009-10-13T17:23:27Z")
I think it’s ridiculous to the point of unconcionable that doctors can’t legally prescribe marijuana for medicinal purposes. I find it absurd that there’s little to no federal funding for scientific studies on marijuana as a medicine. I think we’re mired in this reefer madness bullshit mindset that wasn’t even based on marijuana being bad for you in the first place! All that said…I said never. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/6 "2009-10-13T17:34:50Z")
It’s a billion dollar industry in California alone - just waiting to be taxed. And for all the people who would grow their own 5 x 5 plot in the event of legalization, plenty of Americans would rather drive two blocks down to the 7-11 to buy a pack of R.J. Reynolds brand pre-rolled joints. ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/7 "2009-10-13T17:51:44Z")
Soon, I hope. I haven’t lit up in dog years, and it would be great to sit in my backyard and watch the sunset over the lake while I toast up a 'doob without any fear of being busted. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/8 "2009-10-13T17:52:54Z")
You can do that now, you know; just sayin’ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/9 "2009-10-13T17:59:57Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > You can do that now, you know; just sayin’ 😉 You don’t know my uptight neighbors; besides, it’s been so many years I have no idea where to even find any smokeum. ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/10 "2009-10-13T18:00:30Z")
not nearly soon enough. everyone just needs to chill out a bit - we (as a nation) are way to uptight. Everyone just take a toke and relax for 1 freaking day. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/11 "2009-10-13T18:31:06Z")
I give it better than even odds that California legalizes it before Obama leaves office. This may even create a “domino” effect where other states make it legal. But it could be decades, or possibly even never, for it to be legal in all 50 states. There are many conservative states out there that will hold out for a long, long time. Look at Alcohol Prohibition in the United States. The 21st Amendment ended prohibition in 1933. States were free to prohibit alcohol within their borders, and many continued to do so. Mississippi was “dry” until 1966. Kansas prohibited selling “liquor by the drink” (on premises) until 1987. Many southern states still have “dry” counties where alcohol sales are banned. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/12 "2009-10-13T19:07:10Z")
I voted “moving in that direction…”, figuring that as legislatures keep searching for new revenue streams, eventually some of them will turn to marijuana. It’s one of the very few painless taxes available. People that oppose it can giggle as the stoners cough up big tax dollars…say $300/ounce for mid-grade, $500+ for high grade pot. Stoners will still be happy they finally can smoke up without worrying about arrests. And stock in food delivery, particularly pizza delivery, should go through the roof…😃 ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/13 "2009-10-13T20:04:27Z")
> [@Jettboy](#): > > I have no idea where to even find any smokeum. Pizza places, high schools, my dad… ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/14 "2009-10-13T20:16:32Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > I give it better than even odds that California legalizes it before Obama leaves office. This may even create a “domino” effect where other states make it legal. > > But it could be decades, or possibly even never, for it to be legal in all 50 states Point of order - isn’t marijuana possession and sale illegal at the \*federal \*level? Isn’t it impossible for a single state to allow possession/sale of marijuana? Or are you hypothesizing that the feds will back out before the end of Obama’s second term? I don’t see that happening. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/15 "2009-10-13T20:17:08Z")
I believe I recently saw a magazine with the cover asking “Is Pot Already Legal?” One of my most interesting conversations over the past year was with a guy who apparently sells a great deal of material. He was very open in describing the operation of the folks he obtains his product from. I was very impressed at how much it was simply a business. And he said all parties involved would be happy to operate aboveboard. Heavens knows the state where it is farmed could use the tax income from a thriving industry. Having said that, decriminalization is the best I can imagine expecting in my lifetime. There is just no political capital to be gained from anyone favoring more. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/16 "2009-10-13T20:19:12Z")
The question I asked wasn’t a point of order, was it? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Gustav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Gustav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gustav)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/17 "2009-10-13T20:26:40Z")
Never gonna happen. No way. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/18 "2009-10-13T21:27:07Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I believe I recently saw a magazine with the cover asking “Is Pot Already Legal?” It was [Fortune Magazine](http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/11/magazines/fortune/medical_marijuana_legalizing.fortune/index.htm). Their argument is that medical marijuana laws have already opened the door to legalization for a number of reasons (which might or might not be legally compelling - IANAL). Some quotes: > [@Fortune Magazine](#): > > This article is not another polemic about why it should or shouldn’t be. Today, in any case, the pertinent question is whether it already has been – at least on a local-option basis. We’re referring to a cultural phenomenon that has been evolving for the past 15 years, topped off by a crucial policy reversal that was quietly instituted by President Barack Obama in February. > > … > > In late February, President Obama signaled a new approach. His attorney general, Eric Holder, confirmed at a press conference that he would no longer subject individuals who were complying with state medical marijuana laws to federal drug raids and prosecutions. > > This understated act – a simple pledge not to act, really – could have enormous consequences. It potentially leads to exactly the same endpoint as the Twenty-First Amendment, which repealed the federal prohibition on alcoholic beverage sales. > > Here’s how. When states make a legal loophole allowing medical use of marijuana, they must grapple with the messy question of what precisely constitutes medical use. After all, doctors regularly prescribe powerful drugs like Valium, Viagra, Prozac, and – give us a break – Botox to patients who are hardly at death’s door. > > If a state doesn’t tightly limit what “medical use” means, the camel can get its nose under the tent. > > That’s what happened in California. Like most medical marijuana states, California permits doctors to “recommend” marijuana use for patients who suffer from specific serious diseases. (Drafters of the law avoided the word “prescribe” in an attempt to sidestep conflict with federal law.) > > California’s law then adds a catchall provision that lets doctors also approve marijuana use for “any other illness for which marijuana provides relief.” In practice, doctors – largely protected from second-guessing by confidentiality privileges – have been free to make the final call as to which conditions those might be. > > This is, after all, the norm vis-à-vis medicines. Once a pharmaceutical has been FDA-approved for one use, doctors can lawfully prescribe it for other, so-called off-label purposes, even though the drug has not yet been certified as safe or effective for them. > > Accordingly, California doctors are authorizing patients to take marijuana to relieve such ailments as anxiety, headache, premenstrual syndrome, and trouble sleeping. “You could get it for writer’s block,” comments Allen St. Pierre, the executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. > > Some California doctors voluntarily report the breakdown of patient medical conditions for which they have approved marijuana use in the Alameda, Calif., medical newsletter O’Shaughnessy’s. > > They commonly report that more than a quarter of their marijuana authorizations have been prompted by patients suffering from conditions like “anxiety” or “insomnia.” (The most common complaint is “chronic pain.”) > > As a result, in most of California’s coastal metropolitan areas, marijuana is effectively legal today. Any resident older than 18 who gets a note from a doctor can lawfully buy the stuff, and doctors seemingly eager to write such notes, typically in exchange for a $200 consultation fee, advertise in newspapers and on websites. > > There are an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 medical marijuana patients in the state now, and the figure is rapidly growing. > > More astonishingly, there are about 700 medical marijuana dispensaries now operating in California openly distributing the drug. There’s a funny line where the author goes to a dispensary, looks at the bud and compares it to the bags of stems, seeds, and schwag that he used to buy in college. Fortune Mag was even nice enough to throw together a pictoral essay: [http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/fortune/0909/gallery.marijuana\_medical.fortune/index.html](http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/fortune/0909/gallery.marijuana_medical.fortune/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/19 "2009-10-13T21:46:40Z")
I could see the federal government turning the issue back to the states. I kinda doubt it will happen in my lifetime though. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/20 "2009-10-14T01:09:39Z")
I voted Never but I’d like to qualify it. I doubt it will happen in my lifetime but that’s probably because I’m old and I’ve been listening to people argue about it for forty or more years. If it is legalized after I’m dead, then my opinion is meaningless but it could happen. Just not in my lifetime. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663.md?page=2)