Political movements like the Tea Party may come and go, but the pot party seems to get stronger with every national election, putting the federal government in an increasingly untenable position.
To date, more than a third of the states plus the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana, at least for medical purposes, and, according to Americans for Safe Access, eight other states are considering bills to do the same.
As a result, we're getting close to the point where half the country will have legalized a drug designated a Schedule 1 controlled substance by the federal government, meaning it has no known medical uses and is as dangerous as heroin.
This has been an overly restrictive classification since it was imposed in 1970, yet what's remarkable about the antiprohibition movement is that it still hasn't prompted the government to reconsider its stance. A bill in Congress would do just that, but it also points out that there's a right way and a wrong way to proceed.
What we'd like to see is federal legislation that would treat marijuana like an ordinary prescription drug, complete with FDA oversight. Anything less would probably just add to the confusion and abuse.
