Interesting article. I'll probably get downmodded for saying this, but I do believe that this being #1 brings HN one step closer to reddit.
So while it might appeal to Reddit for the "legalize weed" angle, it appeals to us for the points it brings up, and its explanation thereof.
Few governments would tell you what you can and can't eat, but they sure do limit what you can sell to other people to eat, and most people are ok with that (minus a few libertarians who enjoy thinking up creative systems that more or less achieve the same results, minus the government).
But that is in fact huge. This is practically The Establishment saying it.
to get a better sense of where they're reacting to the full briefing from this weekend's issue is worth a read:
"On the trail of the traffickers" http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13234157
"Sniffy customers" http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13234124
"A toker's guide" http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13234134
"In America, lessons learned" http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13234144
and overall their perspective is well summarized by the cover art: http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayCover.cfm?url=/...
Also, this is a fine article -- it's well-written and makes some points that are novel (to me, at least). The fact that it's espousing one of the stances that redditors tend to blindly support is irrelevant.