“Marijuana Legalization Debate Catches Fire…”

Regardless of what side of the fence you’re on, the marijuana legalization debate is at it’s highest in years. And yes, all the pun in the world is intended.

Combing through the halls of history, weed and America have always had a hidden love affair. The Hippie Movement lived by it and it was of no shortage during the mass gathering that was Woodstock. Hip-Hop and Mary Jane have made no secret to their affection to one another, and apparently a great majority of the country seems to reflect the same sentiments.

Eighty-one percent of U.S. adults favor legalizing marijuana in a medical context, according to a telephone poll conducted by ABC News and the Washington Post last week. In 1997, 69 percent of respondents were in favor of the idea.

The news led some, such as the Raw Story’s Stephen C. Webster, to conclude that “the medical marijuana debate among American voters is over.” Indeed, voters in nine states have approved medical marijuana provisions, beginning with California in 1996.

But it’s not just citizens who are catching whiffs of a budding new era: The legislatures of five other states, most recently New Jersey, also passed their own laws setting up specific, government-sponsored programs that provide controlled access to the plant to ill patients — bringing to 14 the grand total of states where medical marijuana is available.

The marijuana debate will likely blaze on for years (yeah, I did it again), but for supporters of the plant and its usage, this is ground breaking news. Honestly, I would have never thought the American government would budge on its stance of weed and usage by the public. I doubt very seriously we’ll ever see a Supreme Court judge breaking down a bag of weed or the President of the United States sparking a blunt while giving the State of the Union Address.

But it does give you a sign of the times and how much the American culture has become open and affectionate towards the world’s most notorious plant.

Majority Backs Medical Marijuana But Feds Won’t Budge