Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
    • Reason TV
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • Free Media
    • The Reason Interview
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • Freed Up
    • The Soho Forum Debates
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Log In

Create new account

Donald Trump

Drug War Is Over (If You Want It!): Hollyweed Edition

Nick Gillespie | 1.3.2017 9:08 AM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google
Media Contact & Reprint Requests
Snopes.com, public domain

Over the New Year's weekend, pranksters found their way to the Hollywood sign and mocked it up to pay tribute to Calfornia's November vote to legalize recreational marijuana.

Here's a map via Governing magazine that lays out where pot is legal and under what circumstances. It's interactive, so click through for full effect.

Governing

Especially after California's move, it's legitimate to say that the war on pot is decisively going against the prohibitionists. Having said that, there's still a ton of territory to be won and there remain massive actions that still need to happen: Laws in the 21 states that still ban all forms of pot need to change, legal banking practices need to be established in states that allow recreational and medical marijuana, the disposition of prisoners serving sentences for marijuana-related crime needs to be addressed, and more.

In 2017, activists will be especially busy in states such as Texas, Kentucky, and Missouri, which currently don't allow legal consumption, but also will be working to further liberalize laws in places such as New Jersey and Rhode Island. The question for all of us who believe that adults should be allowed to use marijuana legally is, to paraphrase John Kerry, Who will we let be the last person to die for this mistake? A more-pressing question for all Americans is, What will the federal response to state-level legalization be under a Trump administration. There are good reasons to be very worried. Watch now:

Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Like us on Facebook.
Follow us on Twitter.
Subscribe to our podcast at iTunes.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: A.M. Links: Trump Threatens General Motors With 'Big Border Tax,' ISIS Claims Responsibility for Nightclub Attack in Turkey

Nick Gillespie is an editor at large at Reason and host of The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie.

Donald TrumpDrug PolicyMarijuanaDrugs
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Hide Comments (19)

Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.

  1. SIV   10 years ago

    There are good reasons to be very worried.

    There are good reasons to be very optimistic as well. Donald J. Trump's long-time pre-campaign position on drugs was far more anti-prohibitionist than that of the 2016 Libertarian Party nominee.

    1. Rich   10 years ago

      And *who* is The Donald's pick for A.G.?

      1. Gene   10 years ago

        An admirer of Aslinger.

    2. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

      Which is why he nominated Drug War hardliner Jeff Sessions to be his chief law enforcement officer.

      1. SIV   10 years ago

        When has an AG not been a "drug war hardliner"?

    3. x'); DROP USER Tony;   10 years ago

      What a perpetually dishonest piece of shit you are.

  2. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

    Medical merry-wanna is legal in the Commonwealth of Pencil-vain-ya? Huh. I did not know that. Time to stick my balls in the microwave before the Ziggy Marley concert.

    1. Holger da Dane   10 years ago

      "Micro-waved balls" is not on the list. Sorry.

      *Hands Fist an ice pack*

  3. Brochetta's magic (((pants)))   10 years ago

    Articles like this really do more to enforce the notion that libertarians are just Republicans who like weed more than all of the HitNRepublicans/yokeltarians ever could. The drug war not only isn't over, it's not even close to winding down. And this is an article that basically spits on the principles behind opposition to drug prohibition.

    1. SIV   10 years ago

      Your dentists can't phone in a narcotic 'script anymore. Have an abscess over a holiday? Thank Obama for your suffering.

  4. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    Especially after California's move, it's legitimate to say that the war on pot is decisively going against the prohibitionists.

    Uh Nick, did you actually *read* the marijuana law voters approved? I'd argue more freedom existed under prohibition than the gargantuan expansion of the police and regulatory state that the new law engendered as a trade off to legalization.

  5. straffinrun   10 years ago

    No way is dark green more chronic than light green.

  6. Anomalous   10 years ago

    Who's narrating that "5 Things Libertartians Should Be Nervous About in 2017" video? She needs to lose the vocal fry.

  7. UnCivilServant   10 years ago

    I'm sorry, but that map is deceptive. New Yorks "Medical Marijuana" program has a ruleset that makes it impossible for anyone to produce any crop whatsoever.

  8. Conchfritters   10 years ago

    Map needs updated. Iowa, of all places, has legalized for medicinal purposes.

  9. Emmerson Biggins   10 years ago

    Somebody fix the map legend. "No laws legalizing marijuana" makes no sense. Laws aren't the solution here, they are the problem.

  10. Marty Feldman's Eyes   10 years ago

    Drug War Is Over (If You Want It!): Hollywood Edition

    And yet, I still can't buy weed.

  11. chanyuan   10 years ago

    chanyuan2017.01.6
    pandora jewellery
    air max uk

  12. Rockabilly   10 years ago

    Sessions, where in the US Constitution does it authorize the war on drugs?

    Well, jackass, where does it?

    Or are you just another alt-left communist who thinks the government has unlimited power?

    1. Fat Hubie   10 years ago

      Oops! Too late, it does seem to...

Please log in to post comments

Mute this user?

  • Mute User
  • Cancel

Ban this user?

  • Ban User
  • Cancel

Un-ban this user?

  • Un-ban User
  • Cancel

Nuke this user?

  • Nuke User
  • Cancel

Un-nuke this user?

  • Un-nuke User
  • Cancel

Flag this comment?

  • Flag Comment
  • Cancel

Un-flag this comment?

  • Un-flag Comment
  • Cancel

Latest

A Federal Judge Slams Trump's IRS Lawsuit As a Pretext for Delivering a Phony 'Settlement'

Jacob Sullum | 7.13.2026 8:10 PM

A New Jersey Judge Defies the First Amendment by Censoring News Coverage of a High School Lockdown

Jacob Sullum | 7.13.2026 4:10 PM

Trump Accounts Add Confusion to Savings Accounts Without Adding Much Benefit

Jeremy Horpedahl | 7.13.2026 3:33 PM

RFK Jr. Wants the Government To Teach Everyone How To Cook Again

Marc Oestreich | 7.13.2026 1:05 PM

Justice Department Subpoenas New York Times Journalists Who Reported About Trump's New Plane

Joe Lancaster | 7.13.2026 12:50 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS Add Reason to Google

© 2026 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Reason's July 4 Special!

For America's 250th, Get 2 Years of Reason for $17.76

Celebrate your independence with a subscription to Reason magazine, your most trusted source of honest, insightful news and analysis.

Subscribe to Reason