# 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:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/21 "2009-10-14T02:02:26Z")
We’ll require more old, entrenched politicians to die or retire and more Gen Xers and Yers to get involved in government…then it will happen. What I despise most about the way this issue has been and continues to be handled by our government is through scare-mongering, while little old harmless alcohol that never hurt a soul remains legal. It’s a travesty. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/22 "2009-10-14T02:07:21Z")
Definately by 2050 there will be some sort of marijuana liberalization in the US. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/23 "2009-10-14T02:17:50Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > Definately by 2050 there will be some sort of marijuana liberalization in the US. Don’t be so conservative with your estimate! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/24 "2009-10-14T11:18:36Z")
> [@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. > > 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. My county is dry. And it doesn’t mean much of anything, as it’s still possible to get a liquor license. As for the OP: apparently I live in a bubble: the idea of Marijuana becoming legal seems extremely unlikely to me, if only because the people around here that want it so are too unmotivated to do anything about it. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/25 "2009-10-14T14:53:24Z")
I can’t imagine ever being able to buy a pack of Panama Red 100’s at the 7-11, but I’d imagine decriminalization sooner or later. Maybe a Netherlands style dealio in certain cities (San Francisco, I’m looking at you). ---
**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 14, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/26 "2009-10-14T15:35:05Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > the people around here that want it so are too unmotivated to do anything about it. _Snerk_ ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/27 "2009-10-14T18:47:38Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > We’ll require more old, entrenched politicians to die or retire and more Gen Xers and Yers to get involved in government…then it will happen. I suspect that there were people who thought that way in the sixties and seventies, if the near-future SF I’ve read from that period is any indication. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-marijuana-be-legalized-in-the-us/513663/28 "2009-10-14T22:24:48Z")
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