All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

The Attorney General of Colorado said yesterday that his state can collect taxes on sales of medical marijuana.

"Medical marijuana is tangible property that is generally subject to state sales tax," Attorney General John Suthers said in an opinion, according to The Denver Post.

Suthers, a Republican, was responding to a query from the state's governor, Democrat Bill Ritter.

"This is another in a series of significant steps toward some sort of legalization of marijuana," said CBS News Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen. "Once local and state officials in Colorado and elsewhere realize how much income they can generate from this tax it will be harder for them or anyone else to argue that pot shouldn’t be legalized and regulated in some fashion."

In response to the opinion, the Post reports, the governor's office says it will direct businesses that offer medical marijuana to obtain retail licenses and begin paying sales taxes.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Marijuana Nation

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The American Medical Association on Tuesday adopted a resolution calling for the government to review its classification of marijuana, in order to ease the way for more research into the use of medical marijuana.

While the AMA, the largest physician's organization in the U.S., explicitly states it does not endorse any current state-based medical marijuana programs or the legalization of marijuana, the move is a significant shift that continues a trend toward support for easing restrictions against the drug.

"Our American Medical Association (AMA) urges that marijuana's status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines," the AMA's statement (PDF) reads. "This should not be viewed as an endorsement of state-based medical cannabis programs, the legalization of marijuana, or that scientific evidence on the therapeutic use of cannabis meets the current standards for a prescription drug product."

Marijuana is currently classified by the federal government as a "Schedule I" controlled substance, the most restrictive of five categories. Schedule I substances are considered to have a high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug. Other drugs in that category include heroin, LSD and PCP. Less restrictive "Schedule II" substances include cocaine and methamphetamine.

Previously, the AMA recommended marijuana remain a Schedule I controlled substance, but it now believes the substance deserves more clinical research.

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A new poll from Gallup shows that 44 percent of Americans now support legalizing marijuana, with 54 percent opposed. This is the highest-ever support for legalization in the Gallup poll.

The poll comes on the heels of the announcement by the Obama administration yesterday telling federal prosecutors not to focus on medical marijuana users and suppliers in states where medical marijuana is legal.

Gallup reports that support for pot legalization was in the 25 percent range during the 1970s through the 1990s, but jumped to 31 percent in 2001 and has been rising throughout this decade. In the most recent CBS News poll on the subject, conducted in July, 41 percent said they thought marijuana should be made legal.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Marijuana Nation
Medical Marijuana Arrest Guidelines Eased
Cannabis Shops Still Fear Long Arm of Law
Andrew Cohen: New Pot Policy Is Not Yet a Turning Point

The Gallup poll also reveals some interesting statistics on attitudes about marijuana legalization based on regional and demographic information. In the West, a majority (53 percent) say they would support legalization in their state as a way to generate revenue through taxing marijuana. Support for such a plan is only in the 30s in the South and Midwest, however, with the East coming in at 44 percent on the question.

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Updated 5:45 p.m. ET

On Monday, news reports offered the latest piece of evidence that the country is moving toward greater acceptable of medical marijuana use: The federal government sent guidelines instructing prosecutors not to focus on prosecuting state-sanctioned medical marijuana users and suppliers.

Fourteen states now allow at least some medical marijuana usage; Monday's news, as Andrew Cohen notes, means that "tens of thousands of Americans now are free from federal persecution and prosecution for conduct that is completely legal in their own states." In addition, a new poll finds that 44 percent of Americans now favor outright marijuana legalization, marking a new high.

With that said, it seems reasonable to wonder whether medical marijuana is – or will ever be – covered through health insurance plans, like a typical prescription drug.

First, consider the present: Susan Pisano of America’s Health Insurance Plans, the trade group that represents nearly 1,300 companies, told Hotsheet the group does not "know of any coverage for medical marijuana among our member companies."

Medical Marijuana Arrest Guidelines Eased
L.A. Prosecutor Vows to Target Pot Shops
Andrew Cohen: New Pot Policy Is Not Yet a Turning Point

That comports with the opinion of Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project, who said patients at the moment have no choice but to pay "cold, hard cash" for medical marijuana.

The reason that medical marijuana is not covered, both Pisano and Mirken said, is that it is not approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration.

"The main issue here is the question of FDA approval that all drugs need to go through," said Pisano. Lack of FDA approval means no coverage either by private insurers or through any public plan to be drafted in Congress.

So what, then, are the prospects that medical marijuana will get FDA approval? In the short term, at least, they're pretty slim. The fact that marijuana remains a controlled substance presents one hurdle to approval; another, perhaps more significant one is that it isn't a synthesized drug – that is, its component parts are not crafted by drug companies.

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Updated 5:30 p.m. ET

A CBS News Poll released today finds that 41 percent of Americans think the use of marijuana should be made legal. Fifty-two percent disagree.

The percentage supporting legalization has varied a bit recently. In March of this year 31 percent favored legalization but the number was higher in January at 41 percent, matching what it is now.

Thirty years ago just 27 percent thought the use of marijuana should be made legal.

Demographically, slim majorities of Americans under age 35 and liberals favor legalizing marijuana. By contrast, older people and conservatives are some of the least likely groups to back legalization. Men are a bit more likely than women to say using marijuana should be made legal.

Geographical region also impacts opinions. Opposition to legalizing marijuana is greatest in the South, while over four in 10 of those living in other areas of the country support legalization.

Forty-six percent of those residing in the west favor legalizing marijuana (the highest of any region), but forty-eight are opposed to the idea.

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In "Weed Man: The Remarkable Journey of Jimmy Divine," John McCaslin describes the life of a marijuana trafficker, and he talked about his protagonist – who happens to be a teetotaler – on Friday’s edition of “Washington Unplugged.”

"He is a Robin Hood type character which makes him interesting," McCaslin said.

Without offering his own opinion on marijuana legalization, McCaslin told host Bob Schieffer that he does not expect any action from the Obama administration to change the U.S.'s policy towards the drug.

Watch the full interview below, and check out the full episode here -- it includes an interview with Liz Cheney and a debate on Sonia Sotomayor's pending confirmation, and Richard Haass all on "Washington Unplugged."

As more government officials choose to publicly answer questions submitted by Internet users, they're encountering a new phenomenon: marijuana activists intent on forcing answers to the would-you-legalize-pot question.

In March, President Obama's first virtual town hall took a detour when questions about legalizing marijuana were voted to the top of the financial stability," "jobs," "budget," and (of course) "green jobs" sections of WhiteHouse.gov.

On Wednesday, it was California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) who was put on the spot. Digg.com users propelled a legalize-marijuana question to the number two position (behind one asking about what he was thinking when photographed grimacing at President George W. Bush).

Earlier this month, as CBSNews.com reported, Schwarzenegger said "it's time for debate" about legalizing marijuana. Read on for an excerpt from the CNN interview.

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R. Gil Kerlikowske, the new White House drug czar, thinks the United States should opt for something slightly less bellicose than the phrase “war on drugs” when it comes to addressing the nation’s drug problems.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Kerlikowske said the United States drug policy needs to shift the emphasis from incarceration to treatment.

"Regardless of how you try to explain to people it's a 'war on drugs' or a 'war on a product,' people see a war as a war on them," Kerlikowske told the Journal. "We're not at war with people in this country."

Kerlikowske did not offer up an alternative phrase, though if previous nomenclatural adjustments by the Obama team are any indication, any new phraseology may lack the same punch. Merits aside, it’s fair to say that "Overseas Contingency Operation," the administration's re-branding of the "War On Terror," doesn't have quite the same ring as the more hawkish term did.

Though Kerlikowske's statements to the Journal are particularly blunt, the Obama administration has already made moves to reorient the country's response to the drug trade and addiction. In March, Attorney General Eric Holder said that federal agents would only target medical marijuana dispensaries when they violated state and federal law. Under the Bush administration, medical marijuana distributors were targeted even if they complied with state laws.

Last week, the administration joined a federal judge in urging Congress to equalize punishments for crack dealers and users with those for dealers and users of powdered cocaine. The administration argued that this disparity in sentencing was unfair to African American communities, where crack-cocaine has historically been more prevalent.

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In the last week or two, proposals to legalize medical marijuana have advanced in Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken a significant step further, saying on Tuesday that it's time to debate legalizing marijuana for recreational use in California.

"I think it's time for debate," he said in response to a reporter's question. "I think all of those ideas of creating extra revenues -- I'm always for an open debate on it."

Thanks to a 1996 ballot measure, medical marijuana is already legal under California law, though local officials have substantial discretion. Although that conflicts with federal law, the Obama administration has chosen not to target California medical marijuana dispensaries.

"Most Californians support the idea of making marijuana legal," Aaron Smith, the California policy director for the Marijuana Policy Project, told CBSNews.com. "Right now, the state is in a budget fiasco that not going to go away soon... It's about time they look outside the box at ways of generating revenue."

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Yesterday was April 20th – or 4/20 – a kind of national holiday for marijuana advocates. As CBSNews.com’s Brian Montopoli reported here, the day was celebrated with protests, calls for marijuana legalization and pot-themed parties.

"There's some data out there that shows 47 percent of Americans have smoked marijuana at some point in their life," Keith Stroup, founder of the marijuana legalization organization NORML, said in the story. "That was five years ago, and that means there are likely more living Americans today who have smoked than have not. That tells me that we are very close to a tipping point on this issue."

Last night, CBS 5 in Northern California also took a look at the issue and the large protest held at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. You can watch their report below: