Majority of Americans support the legalization of marijuana, Economist says.

According to this article, in the Economist, 

A huge majority of Americans, more than two to one once don’t knows have been excluded, support the legalisation and taxation of marijuana. Even without excluding the don’t knows, a clear majority favours treating the drug equivalently to tobacco and alcohol.

It also concludes that: 

If our poll is right, then it can only be a matter of time before laws start to change, at least in the more liberal states.

The poll is interesting, but I did think of equivalencies from the past. . .

E.g. During the heatlh care debate it was clear that the MAJORITY of  Americans wanted real health care reform, but the law makers - affected no doubt by the lobbyists from big-pharma, private hospitals and insurance companies were convinced, by lobbyists,  that doom and gloom were the only possible outcomes (or maybe American Politicians are literally just corrupt and giving into bribes - esp in the form of donations to their re-election campaigns) See, for example: this article from Physicians for a National Health Program
Once you explain health care reform to Americans - they support it.

So, I suspect that since legalizing marijuana would have a number of positive effects on the general population - fewer people, especially young people with criminal records, fewer people in prison, fewer people gumming up the court system etc. All of these factors reducing costs that must be born by taxpayers.  That is, it is not just the potential tax revenue. . .   Anyway, I can see that "the people" will want to legalize it (personally I wish it were not regulated for personal use - except maybe by limiting what you could grow - to avoid large scale operations - so that one could grow 6-8 plants for personal use without having to resort to buying from the state - but that debate is for another day. . . much like you can make wine and consume it but not sell it.) but that there are "interests" in society that oppose it, in self-interest.

Anyway, the legalization of marijuana has a negative effect on some parts of the economy and might reduce the need for or reduce the expansion of prisons, policing, courts, and even other medications.  So, who do you figure is lobbying against the legalization and regulation of marijuana?  Llikely those companies that build and operate private prisons, those that make a living from the courts and that need or want large volumes of cases  and those that sell drugs that a cheap or home grown marijuana could replace.

As a result I am not expecting legalization or regulation, in the U.S.  any time soon -

Canadians seem to be split on the issue of legalization in most polls, but it seem more likely to happen here first. . . though not with the present government!   They apparently want to lock up as many people as possible and put them into private, for profit prisons - I am guessing owned by their friends or people they want for some reason to impress - the market should not be in the business of prisons!!!!

I remember once before linking to an article by Conrad Black about how private prisons are bad - and I have read information by Marc Emory (Prince of Pot) who is currently incarcerated in an American private prison - which he claims does not operate according to the rules set out for prisons in the U.S. - but since one is a "prisoner" there is no place to complain.

I think legalized and regulated marijuana would be a good thing - unlike most Canadians though I would like to see all drug problems treated like a health problem and not a criminal one -