While many laws in the U.S. don't seem to make sense, the criminalization of marijuana is one of the more puzzling. Compared to the problems with alcohol (which is legal), it seems benign. Most Americans (including the current President) have tried it at least once. Other than making one lazy, why does it get such a bad rap, and when is that going to change? The answer to that last question is: maybe soon. But first - a little history on how we got here...

Both marijuana (as we know it) and industrial hemp have a long history in the world (and the U.S). Industrial hemp was grown to make rope for sailing ships. Marijuana was used by immigrants and native Americans as a recreational and/or religious drug. Powerful industries saw these as a threat. The pharmaceutical industry saw a threat in the medical benefits of a plant anyone could grow (it is literally a weed). William Randolph Hearst saw hemp as a threat to the artificial fiber industry he had invested in. This led to a prohibition of the plant in all its forms. It didn't help that marijuana use was mainly attributed to illegal immigrants (some things never change), blacks, and "Injuns". It's still illegal to grow hemp in the U.S., although it's not illegal to make use of the fiber. That's beginning to change, as states are pursuing this cash crop.

The use of the psychotropic version is slowly becoming more accepted as well. Back in the late 60s a person could get 30 years in prison for possessing one joint. Nowadays, some states simply write a ticket (like a traffic offense) for certain violations. Like most change, it tends to start in one area, and grow into others. For marijuana, that area is its medicinal uses.

A few days ago, the Obama administration announced a new policy regarding medicinal marijuana:

Interesting that a Democratic president is more observant of "states rights" than a Republican president in this case, no?

What this means is that states which wish to reap the benefits of allowing legitimate businesses to grow (no pun intended) in their states can do so. This provides a humanitarian benefit for patients, as well as tax revenues for the state. It's also apparently providing a job for those in the newspaper business:

I wonder what William Randolph Hearst would think of this?

It's clear that Americans are trending toward allowing pot to be legalized altogether. Support for legalization is up to 44% now. When it breaks 50%, will anything change? It's doubtful that Congress would do anything so "controversial", considering how health care reform is being scuttled by a small minority opinion.

Perhaps "states rights" will come to bear in this case as well. The current economic situation has a lot of states in trouble financially, and the taxes that could be collected by legalized sales would really help. Currently, it's all underground economy. If it was brought above ground, the monies collected would be enormous.

It wouldn't even require legalization at the federal level; it would only require that - like medicinal marijuana - the federal government allows states to create their own laws with regards to growing, possessing, selling, taxing, and smoking their own weed. This goes for industrial hemp as well.

It could happen. It should happen. Maybe Obama's second term?...