Three Charts On Marijuana

I have lobbied regularly on this blog for the legalization of marijuana. It has never made sense to me that such a gentle and non-lethal drug, marijuana, should be illegal -- and classed by the federal government with the most dangerous drugs we know of (like heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, etc.). It would make a lot more sense to legalize the drug, and tax it heavily to help balance government budgets (like we do with the much more dangerous drugs like alcohol and tobacco).

These charts give me the sense that more Americans are also starting to come around to that point of view. The top chart shows why this might be happening. It shows the number of people in each age group who admit to having used the gentle herb (and therefore know that it is not the evil drug our government would have us believe). Furthermore, since the question was asking individuals if they had broken the law (by using marijuana), something many people are loathe to admit, it is highly likely that the real number of those who have used marijuana is even higher.

The second chart shows the number of people who think the federal government should back off from its ridiculous stand on trying to punish the use of medical marijuana (or punish the sellers of medical marijuana). A whopping 74% of Americans think the states should be allowed to make their own rules on medical marijuana, and the federal government should respect those rules -- and this goes for all demographic groups. Here are the percentage of each group that agrees with this view:

Men...............73%
Women...............74%
Democrats...............75%
Republicans...............67%
Independents...............79%
18 to 34...............81%
35 to 49...............76%
50 to 64...............76%
Over 65...............64%
Whites...............73%
Blacks...............81%
Hispanics...............73%

After looking at the numbers of those who have used marijuana and those in favor of medical marijuana, one might think that a majority of Americans are starting to think marijuana should just be legalized -- and that is just what the bottom chart shows is happening. A historically high number of Americans have reached that conclusion (about 50%).

It is time for our government to abandon its ridiculous and archaic view of marijuana -- and legalize its recreational use. They should stop making criminals of honest and hard-working people, and put marijuana to work for the financial good of the country by taxing its use.