Marijuana

Jacob Sullum | 2.11.2026 12:01 AM

The New York Times embraced legalization of recreational marijuana in 2014, two years after Colorado and Washington became the first states to take that step. By that point, most Americans opposed pot prohibition, and that majority has grown since then.

Although the Times does not regret endorsing legalization, its editorial board now says stricter regulation and heavier taxation are necessary to curtail the costs associated with marijuana abuse. Those recommendations elide two inconvenient facts: Cannabis is still federally prohibited, and states are still struggling to replace unauthorized pot peddlers with government-licensed marijuana merchants.

The Times emphasizes that "occasional marijuana use is no more a problem than drinking a glass of wine with dinner or smoking a celebratory cigar." But while marijuana "is safer than alcohol and tobacco in some ways," the Times says, "it is not harmless."

Frequent cannabis consumption has increased substantially in recent years, the Times notes, and roughly one in 10........

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