State-licensed recreational marijuana sales began today in New Jersey, one of 18 states that have legalized cannabis for adults 21 or older. Those states account for more than two-fifths of the U.S. population, and another 19 have legalized marijuana for medical use, meaning three-quarters of the states have retreated from a blanket ban. According to the latest Gallup poll, more than two-thirds of Americans think marijuana should be legal. Yet the federal government still prohibits marijuana use for any purpose, and it is very unlikely that will change anytime soon.
A big part of the problem is Republican resistance. When the House of Representatives approved legislation that would repeal federal pot prohibition on April 1, just three Republicans voted for the bill. In the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–N.Y.), a latecomer to marijuana reform, plans to introduce a legalization bill "before the August recess," a year after he unveiled a preliminary draft. But that bill, like the one the House passed, seems doomed to fail in the Senate, where Schumer has made little effort to attract the Republican support he would need to overcome a filibuster.
