- someone on Administration Simplifies Room Draw for Apartments: "no one knows yet......"
- Avuncular Kim on Gotta Love Conference Tournaments: "I like the idea. Reality TV is constantly modifying its format to hol..."
- Yes and No on Gotta Love Conference Tournaments: "I think this could help keep the bottom teams competitive, or at least..."
- Abhi Nemani on Idea Night at the Ath: We want to show you off: "Two presenters is no problem, though at the moment we can only guarant..."
- edyaj on Mitt Romney Actually Coming to the Ath: "When Mitt Romney speaks, America should listen, try to determine whate..."
Time to Legalize
The celebrations taking place all across the Claremont Colleges this last Monday perfectly illustrate how the prohibition of marijuana has been and remains a complete failure as public policy.
Politically speaking, marijuana legalization at the federal level is a non-starter. President Obama has said many times that he will not legalize marijuana and nobody expects Congress to make any serious moves on this issue, especially because the Democratic majorities depend on the support of more socially conservative, Blue Dog Democrats. California, however, might have compelling reasons to legalize its most valuable crop. First, the state is near fiscal insolvency and keeps plugging deficits only to find them rapidly reappear. Although the amount of potential revenue that could be raised through sale taxes and sin taxes is hotly debated, there is widespread agreement that legalization would save the state billions of dollars in enforcement costs. Second, marijuana production and distribution represents a viable economic industry for California. California’s extensive medical marijuana system and lax enforcement for drug laws has made California the leader in marijuana production in the United States. Legalization would create jobs and shift others from the black market to the legal system, which is a top priority for California’s lawmakers because the state’s unemployment rate is over 11%. Additionally, marijuana legalization would probably boost the state’s incredibly valuable tourism industry, much as the Dutch have benefited from drug tourism.
The marijuana legalization campaign could draw political strength from a variety of sources. Fiscal conservatives could support it in order to reduce expenditures in America’s wasteful and ineffective war on drugs. Libertarians and social liberals should be in favor of government non-interference with the personal lifestyle choices of individuals. African-American and Latino organizations would have an incentive to join the legalization campaign because blacks and Latinos are disproportionately targeted. Even the hugely influential strict constructionist lobby might oppose marijuana prohibition on the grounds that Congress has no constitutional authority to prohibit marijuana. After all, if it took a constitutional amendment to outlaw the sale of alcohol, shouldn’t the same be true of marijuana.
At the end of the day, marijuana is much more like alcohol or tobacco than heroin or meth. The drug does have negative health effects for users, but not to the extent required to justify complete prohibition for private use. Despite decades of searching, experts have yet to vindicate the gateway theory that marijuana use leads to harder drug usage (correlation in this case does not imply causation). For far too long, our society has considered marijuana use a criminal activity when it really should be understood as a public health concern that should be treated with education, regulation, and taxation to disincentivize usage.
More posts by Charlie »
Charlie Sprague
I love to debate, but I hate it when people take arguments about their politics personally. I love to travel for free. It's one of the best things I've gotten from my CMC education. Sunday is often the most frustrating day of my week (I'm a 49ers fan).
13 Comments
2009-04-22
12:38:04
If you live in California and favor legalization of marijuana for adults, tell your state representatives to support California Assembly Bill 390. Visit yes390.org
2009-04-22
15:07:44
Role another blunt, Charlie. Why not ban all drug laws?
2009-04-22
16:31:53
WASHINGTON - US growers produce nearly US$35 billion worth of marijuana annually, making the illegal drug the country's largest cash crop, bigger than corn and wheat combined..........
California's production alone was about US$13.8 billion......
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2661112
Imagine even a 10% tax. Couple that with immense savings from no longer prosecuting people and we've solved California's deficit.
2009-04-22
16:48:58
Somehow, I don't see the "strict constructionist" lobby as being "hugely influential." When was the last time anyone paid attention to the Interstate Commerce Clause? (A: 1942, Wickard v. Filburn)
Further, I agree with Charles: The Federal government has no moral business banning certain drugs. From whence do they get the authority? I sure as hell didn't give them the authority.
2009-04-22
17:09:10
Charles and Jeremy,
In principle, I agree in principle that the Federal government has no moral business banning certain drugs, but I think an incrementalist political strategy would be more effective and that means starting with marijuana.
Jeremy,
Obviously I was being sarcastic about the "hugely influential" strict constructionist lobby (one could hardly even consider the judicial philosophy a lobby). It would entertain me to see conservative justices making the strict constructionist argument though.
2009-04-22
21:17:50
Now Charlie, let's talk about that FDA, which kills thousands and thousands of people a year.
Forget the Feds. Legalize all of them.
Also, why no mention of my boy, Charlie Lynch? He's a hero. Giving medical marijuana to cancer patients and that's against the law? Well, that's a law that's worth breaking. http://reason.tv/video/show/760.html
2009-04-22
22:00:18
Whether or not the federal government should criminalize marijuana, state governments can't just go about nullifying federal law, which is what California would do by legalizing the drug and is doing through its medicinal marijuana program.
2009-04-23
10:57:43
It should be legal, why do we keep hurting Americans over this almost harmless and many times beneficial plant?
Oh, yeh, because it's really about money and jobs! I bet if we took away the police's ability to seize cash and property, they would also suddenly say that this drug war against pot is a failure, but as long as they profit from it they will continue to insist that it is bad.
Locking up sick and dying Americans and the people that help them get medicine, how do these people sleep at night, they must drink a lot!
Millions of Americans don't like police officers because of this one issue, this all sucks, and it shouldn't be this way in America, what happened to the land of the free? As we ask Cuba to free their political prisoners, we continue to lock up our own!
2009-04-23
13:38:03
Woah now, I'm with you on legalizing ALL drugs, friend, but don't try to equate us with Cuba where so many languish in prison. http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/prison.html
Thought control and drug control are two radically different things and though I LOATH both and would gladly fight to destroy either, there's no question in my mind that the first is far worse than the second.
2009-04-23
17:52:46
I know this has absolutely nothing to do with this post, but I just thought I would point out that this video is the best response I have seen thus far to those like the erstwhile editor of this blog, who would attack those of us who voted yes on 8. http://hotair.com/archives/2009/04/23/video-canadian-wiseass-makes-his-play-for-miss-california/
2009-04-23
18:42:11
I agree with what that guy has to say about Perez Hilton, but when he starts talking about Prop 8 he sounds like an idiot. Being a homophobe doesn't necessarily mean that you are "afraid" of gays, it means that you equate their lifestyle with drug use and being an asshole. Yes, if you think being gay is like doing drugs you are a homophobe and you are an asshole. You don't have to be afraid of gays.
2009-04-24
13:42:40
That video has hardly anything to do with Prop 8, it just makes fun of Perez Hilton, who probably deserves it. Are you really not getting enough attention these days to the point that you try to reopen an incredibly overdone fight on a post that has NOTHING to do with Prop 8 or the Censor-in-Chief in the first place?!?
2009-04-24
15:33:38
No, but I couldn't find all my videos on Charlie Lynch, victim of a failed drug policy. I found them. Have at it. http://reason.com/blog/show/133099.html