there was one issue both Republicans and Democrats could agree on:

有一個問題是共和黨和民主黨都能同意的。

"An overwhelming majority of voters said yes to the legalization of marijuana."

"絕大多數選民對大麻合法化表示贊成。"

"Montana voters gave their clear backing to marijuana."

"蒙大拿州的選民明確支持大麻。"

"Arizona, South Dakota..."

"亞利桑那，南達科他..."

"You could say a lot of New Jersey voters are high tonight."

"可以說，今晚新澤西州的很多選民都很嗨。"

New Jersey arrests around 30,000 people a year for marijuana possession,

新澤西州每年約有3萬人因持有大麻而被捕。

more than almost any other state.

比其他任何州都要多。

But this year they voted to legalize marijuana.

但今年他們投票贊成大麻合法化。

Arizona voted to legalize it, too.

亞利桑那州也投票同意合法化。

So did Montana.

蒙大拿也是如此。

So did South Dakota.

南達科他州也是如此。

Medical marijuana was passed in Mississippi.

密西西比州通過了醫用大麻。

Now one in three Americans live in a state where access to marijuana has been legalized.

現在每三個美國人中就有一個人生活在大麻合法化的州。

Oregon took it even further and decriminalized possession of all drugs on Election Day.

俄勒岡州更進一步，在選舉日將持有所有毒品的行為非罪化。

Over decades, America's war on drugs has put millions of people in prison.

幾十年來，美國的毒品戰爭已經讓數百萬人入獄。

And today it's widely understood to have disproportionately affected people of color.

而今天，人們普遍認為，這對有色人種的影響過大。

For example, Black Americans use marijuana at the same rates as White Americans,

例如，美國黑人使用大麻的比例與美國白人相同。

but are arrested for it at a much higher rate.

但卻是以被捕的比例要高得多。

This map shows that more and more Americans are starting to turn

這張地圖顯示，越來越多的美國人開始轉為。

against the country's harsh drug laws.

反對該國嚴厲的毒品法律。

But ending them entirely will be a lot more complicated.

但完全結束它們將是一個更復雜的問題。

Americans used to be almost unanimously against legalizing marijuana.

美國人過去幾乎一致反對大麻合法化。

Today, two out of three Americans support it.

如今，每三個美國人中就有兩個人支持它。

But politicians, not so much.

但政客就不一樣了。

There's a lag, between public embrace of issues, particularly cannabis policy,

公眾對問題的接受程度，尤其是大麻政策，有一個滯後性。

and state legislators, or even members of Congress.

和州議員，甚至國會議員。

John Hudak is a policy researcher who writes about America's marijuana policies.

約翰-哈達克是一位政策研究者，他寫的是美國的大麻政策。

And he says the gap between how politicians and the public feel about marijuana,

而且他說，政治家和公眾對大麻的感覺之間的差距。

has a lot to do with what kind of political issue it is:

與它是什麼樣的政治問題有很大關係。

Most Americans don't use cannabis.

大多數美國人不使用大麻。

Most Americans have never been arrested for a cannabis-related offense, etc.

大多數美國人從未因與大麻有關的罪行等而被捕。

So it ends up not being something

所以它最終不是什麼

that they are going to hold elected officials accountable for.

他們將追究民選官員的責任。

Americans usually choose who they vote for

美國人通常會選擇投票給誰

because of issues like the economy, or health care.

因為經濟、或醫療等問題。

Issues like marijuana are pretty far down the list of priorities.

像大麻這樣的問題是相當遠的優先事項。

But when you ask them directly, Hey, do you want marijuana legalized? They'll say yes.

但當你直接問他們，嘿，你想讓大麻合法化嗎？他們會說是的。

And that's why almost all of these states have legalized marijuana in a very similar way:

這也是為什麼幾乎所有這些州都以非常相似的方式將大麻合法化。

Instead of the state legislature passing a comprehensive, detailed law,

而不是由州立法機關通過一部全面、詳細的法律。

it was put directly to the people on Election Day, as a question on the ballot.

它是在選舉日作為選票上的一個問題直接向人民提出的。

We have used ballot initiatives as a campaign and advocacy tool for decades.

幾十年來，我們一直將選票倡議作為一種運動和宣傳工具。

Lindsay LaSalle is a drug policy strategist,

Lindsay LaSalle是一名毒品政策戰略家。

and she's worked on a lot of these state ballot initiatives.

她參與了很多州政府的選票倡議活動

The legislature is often afraid to act.

立法機關往往不敢作為。

But one problem with changing laws this way, with a simple ballot initiative,

但這樣改變法律有一個問題，用簡單的選票倡議。

is that the state still has to figure out the details.

是國家還是要搞清楚細節。

And that isn't always easy.

而這並不總是容易的。

For example, in New Jersey, no one really knows what's going to happen

例如，在新澤西州，沒有人真正知道會發生什麼。

to all the people who are incarcerated, or have arrest records,

所有被監禁或有逮捕記錄的人；

for something that's now legal.

為現在合法的東西。

The other challenge for these laws is that they create a gap with the federal government.

這些法律的另一個挑戰是，它們與聯邦政府產生了差距。

Even though it's legal in several states, at the federal level marijuana is still classified

儘管在幾個州是合法的，但在聯邦一級，大麻仍然被歸類為

as one of the most serious drugs — equal to heroin and LSD.

作為最嚴重的毒品之一 -- -- 與海洛因和LSD相當，

And that puts federal drug laws in direct conflict with state laws in all sorts of ways.

這使得聯邦毒品法與各州法律在各種方面都有直接衝突。

Legal marijuana businesses have a really hard time getting any federally-backed bank

合法的大麻企業真的很難得到任何聯邦銀行的支持。

to take their money.

來拿他們的錢。

And they can't sell their product across state lines.

而且他們的產品不能跨州銷售。

So a farm in California can't sell to a store in Nevada,

所以加州的農場不能賣給內華達州的商店。

even though it's legal in both states.

即使它是合法的 在兩個州。

And because the federal government considers marijuana a controlled substance,

而且因為聯邦政府認為大麻是一種受控物質。

scientists researching the effects of it often face problems with funding and testing.

研究它的影響的科學家們往往面臨著資金和測試的問題。

But as more people in more states choose to legalize marijuana,

但隨著越來越多州的人選擇將大麻合法化。

this gap is going to become unsustainable.

這種差距將變得不可持續。

Having the more conservative states, like South Dakota and Montana and Arizona, passing it,

讓南達科他州、蒙大拿州和亞利桑那州等比較保守的州通過。

means that people have to consider it at the federal level in a much more robust way.

意味著人們必須在聯邦層面以更有力的方式來考慮。

We've seen something similar happen before.

我們以前也見過類似的事情發生。

At first, same-sex marriage only became legal in the US state by state.

起初，同性婚姻在美國各州才變得合法。

But by 2015, 70% of Americans lived in states that had legal same-sex marriage.

但到2015年，70%的美國人生活在同性婚姻合法的州。

That same year, it became legal throughout the country.

同年，在全國範圍內開始合法化。

We've transformed, in this country, in the course of about 25 to 30 years,

我們在這個國家，在大約25到30年的時間裡，已經轉變了。

in terms of cannabis legalization being an absolutely toxic and fringe issue,

大麻合法化是一個絕對有毒和邊緣的問題。

which is what it was,

這是它是什麼。

to one now where candidates of both parties are embracing it.

到現在兩黨候選人都在接受的一個。

Americans' attitudes on the war on drugs, and the mass incarceration it led to, are changing.

美國人對毒品戰爭的態度，以及它導致的大規模監禁，正在發生變化。

And more and more of them are ready for those laws to change.

而且越來越多的人已經準備好讓這些法律改變。

But if politicians won't do it, they will.

但如果政客們不做，他們就會做。