After months of mixed messages from the Obama White House, Attorney General Eric Holder recently announced that the Federal Government will not prosecute medical marijuana users and responsible suppliers in the 14 states that allow for some kind of medical marijuana use. This move is seen as a step in the right direction by many Americans who were surprised by the President’s statements in March, which stated that legalizing marijuana would not be a prudent means of aiding the slumping economy.

Since the early 2000’s, a majority of Americans have favored allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. In 2002, when the marijuana lobby had barely gotten off its feet, a Time magazine poll showed 80 percent of Americans favored the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes. Now, support for marijuana is even higher. Not only does the majority favor medical marijuana, but also a recent Gallup poll showed that 44 percent of Americans favored the legalization of marijuana for all purposes. The support in all demographics has been increasing rapidly in the past several years, and some expect that a majority will support the legalization of marijuana for all purposes in less than four years.

The arguments are numerous and well known. Many point out that cannabis can be used to aid those who suffer from glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, Tourette’s syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder, Huntington’s disease, epilepsy and over 250 other documented conditions. Some argue that legalizing marijuana would allow the government to collect much needed taxes on its trade. Others say that it would stop marijuana from funding violent drug cartels and street gangs, effectively taking money out of the hands of criminals and giving it instead to American businesses and farmers. Still others hold that it would provide a safer, legal alternative to alcohol, which, at an average of 75,000 deaths per year, is the third leading cause of preventable death in America.

Although the recent move to not prosecute medical users that obey their states’ laws is a far cry from legalization legislation, it is, if nothing more, an act of sanity that shows that the government is still somewhat in touch with its citizens. This move alludes to the end of the unsupported bias against marijuana, which led to the federal government defining it as a Schedule I drug which has “a high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use in the U.S., and (is) unsafe for use even under medical supervision,” grouping it with LSD, PCP, and heroin.

The reason for this bias is multifaceted. The first powerful anti-marijuana movement occurred in the 1930’s, at the same time as the anti-Chicano movement that oppressed Mexican immigrants. Marijuana was associated with these immigrants and was subsequently opposed as a means of discouraging Mexican-American subcultures. Early anti-drug laws were created specifically to regulate narcotics, however, marijuana was included as a result of the groundwork laid by the 1930’s racially based anti-marijuana movement. As a result, marijuana has long been associated with more harmful drugs and has been unfairly discriminated against. But the people are tired of maintaining a status quo based upon cultural oppression and misinformation from the past, and Americans everywhere are waking up to the realities of marijuana.

The times are a-changin’ and the American people have been waiting for the White House to keep up. Finally it seems that President Obama, after watching millions hop on his bandwagon of ‘Change’ in November, has decided to offer a little solidarity by hopping on the bandwagon of the American people, who have been busy changing without him.

—Scott Marquart is a freshman in the College of Arts and Science. He can be contacted at scott.m.marquart@vanderbilt.edu.