Trying to get people to stop consuming cannabis has been central to our nation’s “war on drugs” for decades. This war has cost the country billions, if not trillions, of dollars. Most important, it is an abject failure. Yet the policy has been in place for so long that it has simply become part of the status quo. It’s just accepted, part of the way things are.

That is, until California put an initiative on its November ballot to legalize, regulate and tax cannabis. Now the issue is getting real attention from politicians, news organizations and regular people. NPR today started its week-long series, “The New Marijuana.” Via NPR:

What happens in the Golden State this year could have a big impact on the rest of the country. If California decides to make all marijuana legal and starts reaping tax revenue, other states may be tempted to follow, as they have before.

But then, what will the federal government do? Pot remains an illegal drug under federal law. The Justice Department, under the Obama Administration, in most cases has no desire to go after medical marijuana. But it’s highly doubtful that recreational pot will get the same free pass from the feds.

The decision to devote a week to the issue of marijuana comes in the wake of a much-publicized AP story that analyzed the last 40 years of our war on drugs and found it to be a failure. CBSNews.com decided to create a special report series, “Marijuana Nation.” There has also been a host of new polling on the issue of legalization, not just in California but nationally and in several Western states.

The California ballot initiative has served as a catalyst, bringing the issue of our drug policies to the forefront and significantly increasing news coverage. This is our moment as a country to re-examine our failed marijuana prohibition and have an honest debate about it.