( CNN ) -- Despite decades of propaganda from marijuana prohibitionists , a majority of the American public has indeed said `` enough '' to the policies of cannabis criminalization . And no amount of fear-mongering is going to change this fact . Writing in a just-published report by the Brookings Institute , `` The New Politics of Legalization , '' authors E.J . Dionne and William Galston conclude , `` In less than a decade , public opinion has shifted dramatically toward support for the legalization of marijuana . ... Demographic change and widespread public experience using marijuana imply that opposition to legalization will never again return to the levels seen in the 1980s . The strong consensus that formed the foundation for many of today 's stringent marijuana laws has crumbled . '' Indeed it has . Never in modern history has there existed greater public support for ending the nation 's nearly century-long experiment with pot prohibition and replacing it with a system of legalization and regulation . The proof is in the polls . For example , according to a May 2013 Reason Magazine-Rupe nationwide survey , conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International , more than nine out of 10 U.S. adults say that people who possess or consume small quantities of cannabis should not face jail time . Also last month , a May 2013 nationwide Fox News telephone poll , conducted by under the direction of Anderson Robbins Research and Shaw & Co. Research , reported that 85 % of voters support allowing adults to use cannabis for therapeutic purposes . The total is an increase in support of 4 percentage points since Fox last polled the question in 2010 and is the highest level of public support for the issue ever reported in a scientific poll . Opinion : Legalizing marijuana a boon to potheads . Then there is this : An April 2013 national survey commissioned by the Pew Research Center reports that 72 % of Americans now believe that `` government efforts to enforce marijuana laws cost more than they are worth , '' and 60 % say the government should no longer enforce federal anti-marijuana laws in states that have approved its use . And this : According to a December 2012 Angus Reid national sampling of U.S .voters , 66 % say that they expect cannabis to be legal within the next 10 years . And finally there 's this : recently published polls by Gallup , Pew , Quinnipiac University and Public Policy Polling all find that far more Americans now favor legalizing marijuana for adults than believe in its continued prohibition . Why ? The answer has become obvious . The ongoing enforcement of cannabis prohibition burdens taxpayers , encroaches upon civil liberties , engenders disrespect for the law , impedes legitimate scientific research into the plant 's medicinal properties , and disproportionately impacts communities of color . Furthermore , the criminalization of cannabis simply does n't work . Despite more than 70 years of federal prohibition , Americans ' consumption of and demand for cannabis is here to stay . Voters ' recent passage of legalization measures in Colorado and Washington acknowledges this reality . Such laws seek to take control of the marijuana market from untaxed criminal enterprises and , to impose common-sense regulations governing cannabis ' personal use by adults and licensing its production . Unlike the federal government , which continues to define cannabis as an illegal commodity that is as dangerous as heroin , voters recognize that a pragmatic regulatory framework that allows for limited , licensed production and sale of cannabis to adults but restricts use among young people best reduces the risks associated with its use or abuse . Gupta : Why I changed my mind on weed . Marijuana regulations can allow governments to establish legal parameters for where , when , and how markets operate . They can provide oversight of who may legally operate in those markets and provides guidelines for best practices . Society would clearly benefit from this . Only criminals and cartels benefit from the unregulated environment . Maybe an even more persuasive if not entirely counter-intuitive argument in favor of legalization as a means to actually deter youth use is found in recently released Gallup polling indicating a dramatic reduction in youth cannabis use rate as there is a surge in favor of cannabis legalization from virtually all segments of American society . It is time to end our failed policies on marijuana criminalization and replace them with ones that regulate the cannabis market and allow for its private consumption by adults . Marijuana legalization is no longer a matter of if ; it 's a matter of when . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Allen St. Pierre and Paul Armentano .
Allen St. Clair , Paul Armentano : Ground has shifted in favor of legalizing pot . They say they think it is too costly . Writers : Polls show more in U.S. favor legalizing pot for smoking . Writers : Pot legalization is not a matter of ` ` if , '' it 's a matter of ` ` when ''