A number of lawmakers who have co-sponsored some of the dozen pot-related bills admitted that there is still a stigma.

Asked if it was taboo for a politician to smoke pot legally, liberal Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) said, “It would be, it would be … just like one of the worst things that can happen for a politician is to get caught driving under the influence of alcohol. It besmirches you.”

Hastings added, “I never smoked pot at all. I drank enough liquor to float the Queen Mary, but I never smoked marijuana. I never learned to inhale.”

Oregon Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer said, “I think there is probably a stigma. How many journalists come out and say, ‘I smoked dope today?’ They’ll say, ‘I did it in my youth.’ How many judges come out and say, ‘I toke up every weekend?’ ”