Californians may or may not vote next election to legalize marijuana. The polls show the "yes" votes running slightly behind and of course, there's the worry that many marijuana users will be too wasted to get to their polling places. In any case, Mark A.R. Kleiman says the outcome won't matter because federal law says the stuff's illegal and federal law supercedes state law. This thing qualified for the ballot months ago and there have been an awful lot of articles and debates about it by now. I'm not sure I've heard anyone raise the point Mr. Kleiman raises…but don't you think someone should have?
I'm voting to legalize pot. I've never used it. I've never even used tobacco. But in all these years of hearing the topic debated, I've never heard anything approaching a coherent explanation as to why vodka is legal but marijuana isn't. And in my world at least, I've seen more lives ruined by vodka than marijuana. If the measure passes, the legal system can deal with it…and at least we can be amused to hear it's all being taken to a Higher Court.