- This "evolution" is, of course, accompanied by a significant shift in public opinion. National polls show that, for the first time in decades, majorities of Americans support legal marijuana. And it's not just blue states: Surveys from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, and Utah all show that residents want some form of pot to be legal.
- Obama's far from the only politician scrambling to stay on the right side of history. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told the Las Vegas Sun that medical marijuana might not be so bad after all.
- John McCain, meanwhile, was a full three months ahead of everyone. At a town hall meeting last September, he offered what amounts to a verbal shrug: "Maybe we should legalize."
- Even the plutocrats are weighing in. Bill Gates told Buzzfeed that he voted for legalization in Washington, although he didn't expect it to pass.
- Southern states have been more reluctant to jump on the ganja bandwagon, but that could be about to change. Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, says he's willing to consider legalizing medical marijuana, as long as the drug's distribution is tightly controlled. (So don't expect the Big Easy to turn into Venice Beach anytime soon.)
- Oklahoma State Senator Constance Johnson says that compared to alcohol, pot's no big deal, because "marijuana has not killed anyone."
- Of course, prophesies of reefer madness still abound. Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, who compared marijuana to "murder, rape, and child abuse" back in 2012, says that thanks to Colorado's new policy, the demon drug is flowing freely into his home state.
- Patrick Kennedy laid some science on the president, arguing that the drug itself has changed since Obama was a youth. The problem? GMOs.
- CNN anchor Nancy Grace, too, remains unconvinced. People under the influence of marijuana, according to her, "shoot each other, stab each other, strangle each other, drive under the influence, kill families-wipe out a whole family."
- But you know the political winds are shifting when even Ted Cruz is cracking pot jokes.
Daily Meme: Everything's Coming up Marijuana
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