What Tuesday's marijuana victories mean for the war on drugs

Voters in three states helped overturn marijuana prohibition this past Tuesday, but the War on Drugs is far from over
Forbes (US)
Wednesday, November 7, 2012

no-more-drugwarIn three states — Washington, Colorado, and Massachusetts — efforts to liberalize marijuana laws succeeded last night. In Washington and Colorado, the new laws enacted go even further than past efforts. In these two states, fully regulated recreational pot use has now been approved by voters. Maybe these victories shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, in 2011 Gallup found that a plurality of Americans support the legalization of marijuana, and in 2010 fully 70% of Americans supported using marijuana to alleviate pain and suffering. What does all this mean for the four-decade-old War on Drugs?