Marijuana's march toward mainstream confounds feds - Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON (AP) — It took 50 years for American attitudes about marijuana to zigzag from the paranoia of "Reefer Madness" to the excesses of Woodstock back to the hard line of "Just Say No."

The next 25 years took the nation from Bill Clinton, who famously "didn't inhale," to Barack Obama, who most emphatically did.

Now, in just a few short years, public opinion has moved so dramatically toward general acceptance that even those who champion legalization are surprised at how quickly attitudes are changing and states are moving to approve the drug — for medical use and just for fun.

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Fountain Hills marijuana dispensary to open July 8

Fountain Hills’ only medical-marijuana dispensary is set to open early next month, pending final inspection by the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Scottsdale resident Mark Steinmetz plans to open his dispensary, Nature’s AZ Medicines Inc., on July 8 at 16913 E. Enterprise Drive, units 201 and 202. He also is opening a dispensary, with the same name, at 2439 W. McDowell Road in Phoenix.

Last August, the Department of Health Services selected Steinmetz to receive the one state license for a medical-marijuana dispensary in Fountain Hills.

Before opening, Steinmetz plans to host a pre-grand-opening reception and will invite local law enforcement, town officials and others to learn about his operation and medical marijuana.

“People need to really look into it and understand that it’s legitimate medicine,” he said. “To look at medical marijuana and treat it any differently than any other medicine is prejudice.”

Read more: Fountain Hills marijuana dispensary to open July 8