Supporters of Marijuana Legalization Can't Be Stereotyped

For decades, the drug war's defenders have mocked calls for reform and arrogantly characterized our arguments as nothing more than the stoned fantasy of the idiot hippie fringe. But today, support for marijuana legalization can be found everywhere you look and our opponents can scarcely keep track of who they're debating anymore.

California is hardly homogenous, but marijuana legalization makes politics downright confusing in a state where the sides are sometimes flipped. Here, some ex-cops, state assemblymen and billionaire businessmen favor legalization, while there are pot growers and dealers who want to keep it outlawed. [CNN]

How crazy is that? Actually, anyone who truly understands what's at stake here shouldn’t be the least bit surprised. It's easy enough to claim that legalization will increase crime until a bunch of cops start saying the opposite. It's easy enough to claim that legalization will help criminals until illegal growers start publicly freaking out about losing their jobs. And of course, it's easy enough to claim that legalization is just outright ridiculous and stupid until everyone in America is talking about it intelligently and incessantly everywhere you go.

If you have a problem with changing our marijuana laws, that's your opinion and I forgive you for it. But unless you've taken the time to educate yourself about every argument on the table and every constituency in the movement for reform, you have no idea what you're dealing with.