The fact that the voters in two states so overwhelmingly supported the change is making it much easier for politicians, government officials, and prominent public figures to speak out for the idea.

Amidst ongoing controversy surrounding the results of last Sunday’s presidential election in Mexico, the declared winner of the contest, Enrique Peña Nieto, is unambiguously organizing to take over the government come December. The election was marked by claims of fraud, irregularities, and manipulation by the major media in favor of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which ruled the country for much of the twentieth century, and sponsored Peña Nieto’s run for the presidency. While all of these allegations are likely true to an extent, they ultimately fail to convince. And while the opposition continues to protest Peña Nieto’s victory, the president-elect has moved on.

Bob Ainsworth, British MP, has served as both the Home Office drugs minster and the Secretary of State for Defence. Today, Ainsworth has come out for legalizing and regulating drugs, stating the “prohibition has failed to protect us,” and calling the war on drugs a failure.

Is 2012 going to be Sharia v pot?

The latest congressman to speak out against marijuana has received at least $20,000 from the beer and liquor industry this cycle. It’s time he did some explaining.

This morning on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Rolling Stone Executive Editor Eric Bates discussed Ari Berman’s latest article on marijuana legalization, appropriately entitled “Just Say Now” (catchy, isn’t it?).

Recent polling by Angus-Reid shows that a majority of Americans favor the legalization of marijuana. Moreover, a SurveyUSA poll in California indicates that 74% of people between the ages of 18-34 favor legalization. So, where have members of the House come down on marijuana bills in the past? If you have links that indicate where your Senator or Representative stands with regard to marijuana, leave it in the comments. Better yet, give them a call and ask.

The money that now goes to the cartels, with which they buy weapons and fund criminal enterprises of all sorts, could instead be paying teacher salaries and going into the coffers of states that badly need the revenue to meet their budgets.

A new poll of likely California voters shows 49 percent support a November ballot measure to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana, while 48 percent oppose it. Opposition is high among women and Latinos, with younger voters more strongly in favor.

New polls in western states such as California, Washington and Colorado show that lifting marijuana prohibition has strong plurality if not majority support. Ending the failed war on cannabis and replacing it with a system of legalization, regulation and taxation is becoming a mainstream view in some western states.