California assemblyman Tom Ammiano has introduced a bill that would legalize marijuana (and make it taxable) in the Golden State: "Our prisons are overflowing and it's easier now for teenagers to get marijuana than alcohol… we simply cannot afford to continue keeping our heads in the sand and pretend that everything is fine."

The Obama Administration has advised federal law enforcement agencies to move away from arresting medical marijuana users and distributors in states where such activity is legal, reversing the Bush Administration's policy of prosecuting medical marijuana users in states where the sale was sanctioned.

The Department of Justice will now allow states to create their own medical marijuana policies, likely ending federal raids on medical marijuana facilities that were common during the Clinton and Bush Administrations.