Washington and Colorado Initiatives both provided for legalized cultivation of industrial strains

With the legalization of recreational pot use in both Washington and Colorado comes also another environmentally-friendly benefit: both states will soon begin phasing in programs to legally license industrial strains of cannabis, which can be made into thousands of useful products, from clothing to fuel.

The federal response, if any, to such measures is a matter only of speculation at this point.

In addition to making history with the beginning of the end of the drug war, the 2012 election may also eventually be known as the year that Americans turned their backs on petroleum and fully embraced a sustainable solution for the planet. Jack Herer, R.I.P.