The times may be changing on marijuana issue

A few years ago, politicians who dared to suggest anything other than jail time for marijuana users were considered pro-drug fringe candidates.

Not anymore. Now all the major Democratic presidential candidates are offering more lenient stands on medical marijuana, and White House hopeful Ron Paul, a Texas Republican, has made ending the federal drug war a centerpiece of his campaign.

"There has definitely been a change in the political climate for liberalization," said Tim Lynch, a criminal justice expert at the Cato Institute, a Washington-based think tank. "I think the people are ahead of the politicians, especially of the Washington, D.C., politicians, on this issue."

Polls have consistently shown that Americans support marijuana for medicinal purposes: a whopping 80 percent said so in a 2002 Time/CNN survey. In the same poll, about a third approved total legalization, but 72 percent said recreational users should be fined, not incarcerated....

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