Advocates of Legalizing Marijuana on the Grow!

From the Wash Post, heartening news for those of us who care about a) sick people who are routinely denied a medicine that could help them better lives and b) the basic right to control your own state of mind and c) the ways in which prohibition shreds the rule of law, corrupts cops and others, and punishes disproportionately poor and minority citizens:

A 53 percent majority already does so in the West, according to the survey. The finding heartens advocates collecting signatures to put the question of legalization before California voters in a 2010 initiative.

A Gallup poll in October found 44 percent of Americans favor full legalization of marijuana -- a rise of 13 points since 2000. Gallup said that if public support continues growing at a rate of 1 to 2 percent per year, "the majority of Americans could favor legalization of the drug in as little as four years."

At last week's International Drug Reform Conference, activists gamed specific proposals for taxing and regulating pot along the lines of cigarettes and alcohol, as a bill pending in the California Legislature would do. The measure is not expected to pass, but in urging its serious debate, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) gave credence to a potential revenue source that the state's tax chief said could raise $1.3 billion in the recession, which advocates describe as a boon.

More here. On that last point, I did back of the envelope calculations on tax estimates from legalizing drugs, prositution, and gambling in The New York Times. Check my math here.

And watch Reason.tv's "Special Message From the American Marijuana Growers Association":