This is how fast America changes its mind...
Eleven years after Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex couples to marry, the Supreme Court on April 28 will hear arguments about whether to extend that right nationwide. The case comes amid a wave of gay marriage legalization: 28 states since 2013, and 36 overall.
But, as Bloomberg explains, [3] such widespread acceptance in a short amount of time isn't a phenomenon unique to gay marriage. Social change in the U.S. appears to follow a pattern: A few pioneer states get out front before the others, and then a key event—often a court decision or a grassroots campaign reaching maturity—triggers a rush of state activity that ultimately leads to a change in federal law.
Bloomberg looked at six big issues - interracial marriage, prohibition, women’s suffrage, abortion, same-sex marriage, and recreational marijuana - to show how this has happened in the past, and may again in the very near future.
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[4]
So with that in mind, how long until Recreational Marijuana is adopted nationwide...
[5]
If the pattern holds, the marijuana legalization movement may take far less time than other issues to gain widespread acceptance.
[6]
Though the pattern of social change may have remained largely the same over the years, change is happening faster now.
Source: Bloomberg