Two more states have joined the legal-marijuana club.
The results of Tuesday’s election continue to dominate political conversations from coast to coast.
What happened to the predicted Republican red wave? Is President Joe Biden a viable re-election candidate in the wake of Democrats doing substantially better than expected?
Who’s going to win in some of those states where vote counting seems to be taking forever? Why is the counting taking so long?
Yes, there’s a lot to discuss.
But there’s another issue out there, one that generated some news but seems to be taken in stride by most people.
Voters in two more states — Missouri and Maryland — voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
By one count, more than 150 million Americans now live in states where marijuana is legal.
If past is prologue, it will be far more than that in another five to 10 years.
There are now 21 states where marijuana is or will soon be legal for consumption by those 21 and older. Of course, the ready availability of both legal and illegal weed means huge numbers of those under 21 are using it, too.
While the march of legal marijuana is probably irresistible given our popular culture, there are some states still actively resisting legalization. Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota each voted no this week.
What’s going on?
Although it’s not harmless, many people think it is. Politicians who are always looking for new revenue streams embrace it without reservation.
Just look how quickly Gov. J.B. Pritzker passed legalization into law here. The local demand is obvious, people routinely waiting in lines to make their purchases.
The only real public controversy about legal marijuana in Illinois is who has the clout to get a required license to sell it and where it’s going to be sold.
At the same time the sale of legal marijuana is flourishing, so, too, is the sale of illegal weed. Government is taxing it at such a high rate that resourceful private vendors can undercut the legal price and still make a bundle.
There’s not even much risk for those arrested. If selling it is legal, why would prosecutors care much about those who illegally sell it? What’s the difference, other than the state losing revenue because of unreasonable tax policies?
Yes, the times have changed. Just 10 years ago, proponents were trying to make it legal under the guise that it was good for what ails a body. It began with medical marijuana and expanded from there.
Now it’s so common that it barely draws notice — except, of course, from its consumers.
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