America Doesn’t Have a Marijuana Problem, It has a Hypocrisy Problem, and the New York Times Just Proved It

On February 9th, 2026, the New York Times editorial board published a piece titled “It’s Time for America to Admit That It Has a Marijuana Problem.” I read it. I read it again. I sat with my coffee and I thought: after fifty years of calling cannabis a dangerous drug, after helping architect the moral panic that sent millions of people to prison for a plant, after cheerleading a drug war that killed tens of thousands and enriched criminal organizations across two continents — the Times has decided the problem with marijuana is that people are using too much of it.