i don't know if it is that simple. yes - there are a number of US states that have legislated to allow legal, medically sanctioned cannabis. federally, however, it is still as illegal as ever before.
it is only under Obama that federal law enforcement have backed off from prosecuting dispensaries under federal law.
that is far from full legalisation, and as other people have pointed out, there are still plenty of states that are nowhere near decriminalising cannabis.
the USA is a big country, which is different from australia in that it contains many cultural/social/political variations and a multitude of political paradigms. that is to say that the "liberal" states like oregon or california have a very different set of beliefs to others such as alabama or the other southern, conservative "bible belt" states. the "mainstream" varies a lot, depending on where you are and your take on history.
another huge difference from australia is the american power-struggle between state and federal authorities.
laws can vary greatly from one state to another, and laws that are applicable nationally are decided by representatives from all over the country. this means that progressive legislation (such as the legalisation/liberalisation of cannabis) is unlikely to gain full acceptance nationally. local laws can be much more varied, but certain things are still subject to federal regulation - such as drugs.
although more and more progressives are open to the idea of legalising cannabis, there is still a huge proportion of the right that believes the Drug War hype about "gateway drugs" and all that horse shit.
don't forget this is the nation that came up with the idea of banning all psychoactive drugs (except alcohol, cigarettes and pharmaceuticals) to begin with, and in all its superpower wisdom, forced the rest of the world to follow suit.
there is more than a little political pride at stake here.
the usa has made some amazing steps forward in regard to cannabis law reform, but there is still a very long way to go.
and the progress we have seen is all very precarious - all it would take would be for the Republicans to take back control in Congress and all of the dispensaries would be shut down very quickly, i imagine. it's not like it hasn't happened before, and no doubt it is very contentious.
can you imagine the people who have made a career out of demonising and policing drug traffic accepting legalisation without a fight? these are some very powerful forces - be they government, FBI, FDA, DEA, DHS or some other government body.
these are hugely funded institutions with a great deal of authority and influence, be it propaganda, political sway or kicking your front door down in the middle of the night and pointing machine guns at your family.
some very impressive change has been affected in the last few years in america, but i think it would be naive to think it is going to be an easy battle. the prohibition of drugs is an enormous industry that employs a huge amount of people, and has become increasingly militarised in the last couple of decades.
according to wikipedia;
"The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world. At year-end 2009 it was 743 adults incarcerated per 100,000 population...Perhaps the single greatest force behind the growth of the prison population has been the national "war on drugs." The number of incarcerated drug offenders has increased twelvefold since 1980. In 2000, 22 percent of those in federal and state prisons were convicted on drug charges."
i find it difficult to imagine a nation going from having the most prisoners of any country in the world - a large bulk of which are non-violent drug offences - to having a liberal approach to drug law.
public opinion doesn't really matter - there would have to be some pretty immense shifts in american society to go from "just say no"to legalising cannabis in a few decades. in the lack of any "credible threat" in the "war on terror", much attention has been turned to drug traffic, as federal law enforcement has to find reasons to spend its budget somehow.
i'm not saying it won't ever happen, but i don't expect to see full legalisation of cannabis for 30 years at least. i would love to see a shift to sane drug law reform in my lifetime, but there are a lot of uptight old people that will have to drop off the perch before that can happen, and unfortunately a lot of young conservatives taking their place.
drug laws are used to divide people - this works well in a country like america. many states have laws on the books that felons are not allowed to vote, which means huge proportions of certain communities have no democratic voice whatsoever. to think that this is unintentional, or something the ruling class wants to change would be incredibly naive; it is by design.
as for australia? ha - don't make me laugh.
this is the land that time forgot. we're just about ready for another round of menzies' 1950s time warp, and it seems to be what the punters want. drug law reform is not on the agenda for any major political players here - our single-voice, sensationalist media has made sure of that, as well as a public that is suspicious of any form of progressive ideology.
our government is too busy demonising drug users and pandering to (you guessed it) the american government to ever question drug policy. even if they wanted to, it is not going to happen. unless the USA does...we'll think about it 40 years later. ho hum.
pass me my vaporiser?
