On Oct. 22, Gallop Poll reported, for the first time in our country’s history, that a strong majority of Americans are now in favor of marijuana legalization.  Within 12 months, support for marijuana legalization has increased 10 percent to a now clear majority of 58 percent.  

While the political process in the United States is notoriously sluggish and unresponsive to voter preferences, I would be more than willing to wager all the money I will ever earn that marijuana will be legal under United States federal law within the next 10 years.

You are probably thinking right now, “this Tim Gorski is off his rocker.” But if you give serious consideration to the facts surrounding the drug’s illegality it is abundantly clear that marijuana prohibition is exceedingly unsustainable for reasons that are effortlessly discernible.

For one, the old arguments supporting prohibition have no merit.  The gateway drug theory can be applied to alcohol or tobacco as easily as it can to marijuana. 

Also, studies have shown that there is no evidence that prohibition decreases drug use, marijuana use is less harmful than fast food consumption and in the United States, it is easier for children to acquire than legal drugs such as alcohol or tobacco.

So, given that spending billions of dollars locking hundreds of thousands of Americans in a cell every year for using a harmless drug that our president has admitted to using is both patently imbecile and recklessly inequitable, why has it taken so long for our political system to end this injustice? 

It seems that there is simply a lack of political will power to bring about any change to the laws that currently stand. That is, people tend to see marijuana legalization as a fringe issue, one that is secondary to the more important things than politicians have to conquer such as the deficit or health care.

Although, there are other issues which are important for the government to deal with, marijuana legalization should not be taken lightly, its perpetuation has devastating ramifications.

Recent studies have shown that the federal and state governments lose more than $31.1 billion every year in taxes from marijuana sales.  In addition, governments pay $10.7 billion in direct law enforcement costs for a whopping total of $42 billion dollars in annual losses due entirely to marijuana prohibition. 

Not to mention the millions of lives ruined with unnecessary bouts with the legal system.

Also, when industry takes the task of marijuana production out of the hands of the criminals who are currently responsible for it, the marijuana industry will explode leaving thousands of new jobs in its wake in industries ranging from medicine to textiles.

The increase in public support for legalization, coupled with the success of the marijuana industry in Colorado and Washington and the lack of legal action on the part of the federal government will give states no choice but to lead the country in legalizing marijuana themselves. 

Shortly thereafter, federal legalization will be the only viable option.