We finally got it right in vote on marijuana

We got it right. We figured things out. At least with this one issue.

We have learned over our long history that some arguments take an irrationally long time to resolve, and leave subsequent generations scratching their heads and wondering, “What were they thinking?”

It was like that with marijuana legalization.

But after years of back and forth fighting, the fear tactics and apocalyptic projections no longer worked. We go it right. We figured it out. Proposition 207, legalizing the possession and use of marijuana for those over 21, passed in Arizona.

And in other states, too. Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota also approved measures that legalized marijuana for adults 21 and older.

Proposition 207 puts a 16% tax on marijuana sales. Revenue would go to community college districts, municipal police, sheriffs, fire departments and more.

There are rules against selling marijuana products that look like they’re marketed to children. It would still be against the law to drive, fly or navigate a boat under the influence of pot, and it would still be illegal to use marijuana in public places.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be problems or even that the issue of marijuana use is resolved around the country.

It’s still illegal under federal law. Steve Hawkins, executive director of the Marijuana Project, which lobbies for change in the law, issued a statement after Tuesday’s state victories that read in part, “This historic set of victories will place even greater pressure on Congress to address the glaring and untenable conflicts between state and federal laws when it comes to cannabis legalization.”

There also will be difficulties within each state, since not all elected officials like the idea.

For instance, Gov. Doug Ducey claimed in comments on the initiative, “We know from states that have fully legalized marijuana that it has real consequences: more deaths on highways caused by high drivers, dramatic increases in teen drug use, and more newborns exposed to marijuana.”

As far as driving accidents go, studies seem to indicate that they rise temporarily then return to normal in about a year.

When it comes to more kids using marijuana, it seems logical to believe there would be some increase, though the White House official working on the issue said, “For some reason the use rate among this age bracket is going down. We’re not 100 percent sure why it’s going down. It’s a good thing that it’s going down, but we don’t understand why.”

We don’t agree on much these days

but this seemed to be an issue that an impressive majority of us felt the same way about.

That’s a good sign.

Not just for this particular change, however, but for how we are as a people. As Americans.

It has happened all through or history with issues big and small.

Some arguments take an irrationally long time to resolve. And many remain to be fixed.

We get it right, eventually. We figure things out.