California: Finally legalizing pot?

The cash-strapped Golden State has taken a historic first step toward legalizing (and taxing) marijuana. Will it succeed?

A decade ago, legalizing medical marijuana seemed like a radical notion. But today—with 13 states on board and New Jersey days away from becoming the 14th—full-on legalization of the drug appears to be the pro-pot lobby's next frontier, and California is the pioneer. A key Golden State legislative committee has approved, 4–3, a bill to legalize the drug and tax it like alcohol, potentially raising billions to resolve California's budget crisis. Is the bill just a long shot, or is it a viable way for the state to ward off financial ruin? (Watch a report about California's efforts to legalize marijuana)

Hooray for California! This historic marijuana-legalization vote "is huge news not only for the pot smokers of America, but for the people of California," says Nicole Sandler at Air America. Taxing pot would add more than $1 billion to the state's dangerously depleted coffers. But the best part is, "the rest of the country may soon follow suit," just as it has with medical marijuana.

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