The Grass Is Greener

The legal taboos against marijuana continue to crumble. Last week California state legislators voted to do away with formal booking procedures, jail penalties and permanent criminal records in cases of pot possession. Though possession remains a criminal misdemeanor, offenders will suffer none of the stigmas of a criminal arrest. The week before, the lawmakers of both Maine and Colorado had drastically decreased the penalty for possession of small amounts of the weed by setting modest civil fines as the sole punishment. Oregon and Alaska (TIME, June 9) had already decriminalized the private use of pot. In all five states, however, the sale of marijuana remains a crime.

A number of other states are also moving toward liberalizing the laws on personal pot use, and Attorney General Edward Levi has suggested that the Justice Department may recommend at least a drastic reduction in the federal criminal penalties. Buying a pack of joints at the corner grocery may still be years -- or decades -- away. But right now the hardfisted prohibition of pot is gradually loosening.

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