Public Turning Against Federal "Pot" Laws

The federal government has been ignoring the legality of medical marijuana in many states, and continue to fight against the harmless drug. That's because it's still illegal and classed as a dangerous drug according to federal law. It shouldn't be, but it is. And now it looks like more states may be heading for a showdown with the federal government -- Colorado and Washington, who legalized the recreational use of marijuana by adults in the 2012 election.

But it is time for the federal government to back off -- and for President Obama to keep the promises he made when running for president in 2008. And I'm not in the minority when I say that. A recent Pew Research Center survey (done between March 13th and 17th of 1,501 nationwide adults with a margin of error of 2.9 points) shows that a majority of Americans support the legalization of marijuana (52%).  And even larger amounts are starting to think the federal government should just get out of the marijuana enforcement business altogether.

As the charts above show, about 6 out of 10 Americans think the federal government should s enforce federal laws in those states where marijuana use is legal (whether for medical or recreational use). And this feeling cuts across all political boundaries -- with even 57% of Republicans feeling that way. An even larger group of Americans think the enforcement of marijuana laws is just not worth the money it costs -- about 72%, or three out of every four people. This also cuts across political lines, and also across all age groups.

Most Americans just don't buy the government's lies about marijuana anymore. They know it is not a dangerous drug, and they're tired of wasting billions of tax dollars in a failed attempt to control it -- especially since it could be controlled easier by legalizing it, and it would provide billions in new tax dollars instead of expenditures.