Gallop has just released its report on Prosperity and Well Being in the 50 States. North Dakota jumped 18 places to take the number one spot, thanks to the oil discoveries there.
What stuck me was the relationship between high well being and medical marijuana laws. There are about 20 states that have passed medical marijuana laws, permitting the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Thirteen of the twenty are in the top 20 states and there are no medical marijuana freedoms in the ten worst states (i.e. the South). I'm not saying that medical marijuana laws cause prosperity, but it is the case that people who have a classical liberal, or libertarian ideology will tend to pass better economic laws and to approve of medical marijuana.
