Letter From Denver  The Don Draper of Pot  Meet the man who’s
making marijuana mainstream.  A decade ago, nearly two-thirds of
the American public opposed legalizing marijuana. The issue was
such a non-starter that until 2003, when the Supreme Court let a
lower court ruling stand, doctors ran the risk of federal
prosecution simply for talking about the drug with patients
whose conditions it might help. When Capitol Hill’s only two
lobbyists working full-time on weed policy paid a visit to a
congressman around that time, the member’s aide announced their
presence by yelling, “The potheads are here!” Legalizing
marijuana wasn’t a serious political issue—it was a pipe dream.
Since then, we’ve seen an astonishing shift in public opinion.
In less than a decade, the poll numbers have flipped: Instead of
opposing marijuana legalization, a majority of Americans now
support it. Colorado and Washington have legalized the drug,
lobbyists around the country are pushing for other states to
follow and even such Republican