Pipe dreams do come true, given enough time.
More than a decade since California voters agreed to codify the scope and application of the medical marijuana industry, the road to complete marijuana legalization is well underway.
According to the Huffington Post, more than 50 percent of Americans believe that marijuana should be “legalized, taxed and regulated like alcohol.”
While recent efforts have interrupted progress towards full legalization, the state of Colorado is leading the way after recently setting guidelines on how to regulate the budding marijuana industry.
Its plan is to allow complete recreational use within the state by Jan. 1.
With countries like Holland slowly normalizing and taking the negative culture out of the marijuana industry, it is inevitable that use of the drug will be fully legalized in the near future.
In 1996, Proposition 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act, legalized marijuana use in California for patients that were terminally ill or in chronic pain.
While the Compassionate Use Act gives patients with an official doctor’s recommendation the privilege to use marijuana, possession of the substance is still illegal and categorized as a Schedule I drug under the Federal Controlled Substances Act, which states that any drug classified as Schedule I has no medical use whatsoever.
As you can tell, our federal and state governments can’t see eye to eye on the issue.
While President Barack Obama has stated that his administration has no interest in pursuing states that have already legalized marijuana use with a doctor’s consent, the Drug Enforcement Agency has ramped up its efforts to shut down marijuana dispensaries in California.
Adding to the DEA-sponsored raids, a recent ruling from the California Supreme Court has changed the landscape of the state’s marijuana industry considerably.
In a 7-0 ruling, the California Supreme Court asserted that local governments and municipalities have the right to keep or outright ban dispensaries within their city limits.
Since the controversial ruling, cities like Garden Grove and Long Beach have issued cease and desist letters to marijuana dispensaries, urging them to close shop or risk facing fines, federal raids and criminal charges.
So what happens now for the fight in the process of legalization?
With the situation in California worsening, marijuana advocates are looking to states that are moving towards full legalization.
Colorado, as mentioned previously, has recently passed laws concerning marijuana possession, cultivation and taxation.
On Jan. 1, Colorado residents will be able to purchase up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational use while out-of-state tourists may purchase up to a quarter ounce.
Colorado is also developing a seed-to-sale marijuana tracking program that includes video surveillance of marijuana dispensaries, which will ensure proper regulation of an industry in transition.
All marijuana-based products will contain specific warning labels, as Colorado law sets the standards for impaired driving while under the influence of marijuana.
These laws provide the legal framework to safely access a plant that, according to some government surveys, 25 million Americans have tried at least once in their lives.
So what does the future hold?
Expect to see more legal battles at the municipal and district levels in the tough battleground states, while other states, like New York and Ohio, move towards allowing medicinal use of marijuana.
As the nation warms up to the idea of full recreational marijuana use, it’s time to remind the politicians — some of whom tried the substance illegally as kids — that pot should be legalized.
As the comedian Katt Williams famously once said, “It’s just a plant. It just grows like that. And if you just happen to set it on fire, there are some effects.”
Nicolas Rodriguez is a senior political science major and an assistant opinions editor at the Daily 49er.