Bill Maher is a hardcore supporter of the legalization of marijuana. On Friday, during a segment of  New Rules  on the HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher, the host laid out his case for legalizing marijuana. He also admonished Congress for refusing to legalize marijuana, despite historically high (no pun intended) levels of support for the legalization of the drug.Maher even went as far as to light up a joint while he railed against the powers in place that are preventing marijuana legalization efforts from succeeding. This is the first time that Maher has smoked marijuana on his show. It is, however, not the first time someone has smoked marijuana while on the show.In the fall of 2010, Zach Galifianakis appeared on the show as a guest. During the middle of a segment, Galifianakis quietly and calmly lite up a joint, with hilarious consequences.Maher noted how horrible it is that people who use medical marijuana cannot use their medicine in other states where it is not legal. It s not a tenable situation. When I leave Colorado, Oregon, Washington or Alaska, my back pain doesn t go away. Or whatever it is I have. I m kidding   I use medical marijuana because my third eye has glaucoma. Maher pointed out how utterly ridiculous it is that in 2016, Congress has not made any serious effort to pass marijuana legalization legislation. Maher says: Somehow, this is the year that everything from socialism to mass deportation is on the table and voters love the authentic guys who speak their minds, but when it comes time for Congress to consider common-sense pot legislation, it s like smoking a joint with Woody Harrelson; they just won t pass it! I couldn t agree with Maher more. It s time for the self-described Republican lovers of  small government  in Congress to put their legislation where their mouth is. Marijuana is now is legal in twenty-three states, as well as the District of Columbia, in one form or another. Of those, four states and Washington D.C have fully legalized recreational marijuana. That number is expected to dramatically increase over the next few years.You can watch the segment from the show below.Featured image from video screenshot via YouTube