Now that 4 states have already legalized marijuana and 23 in total (and more to come) already have legal medical marijuana in one form or another, things have begun to get complicated. While the Obama administration has not taken legal maneuvers against the states, it does not mean that the states are free and clear just yet.
Since the plant is still considered a Schedule I drug on a federal level, if the government wanted to pull the plug on it all, they probably could. While that is true, they are treating the states legalization as a sort of experiment. They want to see what will happen – and see if maybe the people are right and it’s not so dangerous after all.
In the last two decades alone marijuana legalization support has grown more than twice as large – a mere 25% support back in 1995 is now 58% in favor of full legalization. There are dozens of reasons for this, one of the biggest ones being all the research that has come forward to prove marijuana’s medical benefits.
Medical marijuana currently has even more support at 88% according to the Marijuana Majority. Unfortunately however, that does still mean there is a percentage of people who are very against marijuana legalization in any form – but the difference in these numbers in 20 short years tells us that while all minds cannot be changed even some of the most stubborn can.
Surprisingly, the Republican community – those who have always been the strongest opposed to marijuana reform – is finally warming up to the idea of a legal marijuana market. Recent polls are showing that the republicans are currently holding a strong 60% in Iowa and New Hampshire.
When asked whether or not the federal government should get involved, the majority of voters have agreed that the federal government should stay out of it and leave it for the states to decide. After all, the states have already implemented their own laws and are doing just fine – so why interrupt the process?
At this point, things can go a couple of ways. Someone could come through in 2017 who completely makes this a moot point by legalizing it on a federal level or the DEA could finally reevaluate the plant and assign it to a more appropriate schedule.
The truth is we won’t know until it happens – but in the meantime, unless the feds are trying to help move things forward they need to stay out of it. There has been too much progress for anyone to make us turn back now – and it’s all thanks to the voice of the American people, who are saying to let the states do as they please when it comes to marijuana reform.
