Legalization

Even in a time of Democratic ascendancy, conservative voices for legalization remain important. This video of Milton Friedman discussing marijuana prohibition, posted by MPP, was brought to my attention in an email recently. Check it out, as well as the second part of it at MPP-TV. Check out this interview with Friedman about legalization of all drugs too.

Earlier this week, NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof used his Facebook page to start a lively conversation about legalizing drugs. This comment in particular caught my eye:

"I favor legalization/decriminalization in theory, but I wonder how a policy shift of such magnitude would play out in the real world, or if it's even possible," wrote Stephen Wittek. "A lot of deeply entrenched interests, opinions, attitudes and beliefs would have to uprooted or steamrolled, and a lot of people would scream bloody apocalypse. Regardless of whether or not it 'makes sense,' the question at the heart of issue is 'Does America have the stomach for legalization?' And I'm pretty sure the answer is 'no.'" [Huffington Post]

It's an interesting point and I would respond by asking whether America has the stomach (or the cash) to continue the war on drugs for another 10 or 20 years. The drug war has been falling out of favor with Americans for a long time now, but it seems the floodgates have burst open in recent months. It's gone from being an issue no one wanted to talk about to suddenly gracing the op-ed pages of major papers as a matter of routine. The fact that NYT's Nicholas Kristof wants in on the conversation is a perfect example of the issue's cascading momentum.

It's only a matter of time before the next Michael Phelps-level marijuana media frenzy explodes in everyone's face again and each time it happens, the calls for legalization reverberate louder than before. It's certainly true that "deeply entrenched interests, opinions, attitudes and beliefs" continue to shape the debate, but that's always the obstacle to any seismic shift in our political culture.

It can't happen overnight, but the surging drug policy dialogue that's emerged in recent months is a necessary and promising first step on the path towards long-term reform. For the first time since the drug war began, we're witnessing the White House score political points by toning down the tough talk and pandering to the public's widespread drug war fatigue. The new administration is not about to disarm their great drug war army, but they've established the premise that our current political climate no longer favors the war rhetoric and saber-rattling that have traditionally been considered obligatory by politicians and the press. It's a subtle, yet significant milestone.

In the end, there will always be paranoid parents, unscrupulous prison-industry profiteers and misguided moral crusaders doing their part to derail the discussion. But we've gotten this far in spite of them and we'll continue to press on. Remember, we don't have to "uproot or steamroll" our opposition, we just have to beat them by one vote.

Opponents of reforming drug laws have often tried to dismiss our argument as some sort of carefully crafted conspiracy by "well-funded", "pro-drug" organizations seeking to manipulate the public into naively embracing their nefarious agenda. But the truth is that the movement to reform our drug policy is far bigger than the organizations or individuals behind it. It is just self-evident that our approach to drug abuse is deeply defective and anyone can figure that out on their own just by looking around.

Here's how New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof described his decision to write a piece on the merits of legalizing drugs:

"It's been a gradual process," said Kristof about his thinking leading to the decision to confront the issue. "I think that the economy being a particular mess makes me a little more skeptical about spending vast amounts of money incarcerating people on drugs, and then I think the degree to which Mexico has been erupting also has made me wonder." [Huffington Post]

This is beautifully simply and logical. Why are we spending all this money putting people in prison to stop them from using drugs? Why is Mexican drug war violence worse than ever after decades of aggressive drug war strategies that were aimed at reducing violence? Nicholas Kristof isn’t the only one who's just now beginning to think about it this way.

You could support the drug war your entire life and then wake up one morning asking yourself these questions.

What better way to blow off the debate over legalization than to pretend there's no such thing?

On his first trip outside Washington since assuming his new role, Kerlikowske told a law enforcement crowd Wednesday that marijuana should remain illegal, but public health officials — not police — should lead efforts to reduce illegal drug use.

"Legalization isn't in the president's vocabulary, and it certainly isn't in mine," he told 300 police, federal agents and law enforcement officials. [USA Today]

As supremely lame as it is to find the drug czar sucking up to law enforcement by sneering at the legalization debate, there's something interesting happening here. He says legalization is a foreign concept to him, but he's talking about it onstage days after taking office.Sounds like somebody's feeling the pressure.

As Mexican President Felipe Calderon continues to escalate the Mexican drug war to previously unthinkable levels of death and destruction, his predecessor is saying we should think about ending prohibition:

Fox also said it's time to renew the debate about legalizing some drug use — an idea he proposed while still in office. It is gaining ground in Mexico amid increasing violence that has killed more than 10,500 people since Calderon launched a military-led offensive against powerful trafficking cartels in 2006.

Fox said strict controls and high taxes would be necessary under legalization. He said levels of drug use might remain the same but violence would be significantly reduced because the cartels would no longer control the supply. Families and schools should bear much of the responsibility to educate against drug use, he said.

"I am not yet convinced that that's the solution," he said. But he added, "Why not discuss it?" [AP]

This "let's talk about it" line is going viral. Keep an eye out for this. We'll be hearing it more and more. As a willingness to discuss and debate drug policy slowly replaces knee-jerk opposition to reform, we are presented with an entirely new political climate in which to make our case. Let's do so gracefully.

Duh. Still, I was intrigued by the way they framed the question:

The majority of British Columbians think the legalization of marijuana would reduce violence related to the drug trade, an Angus Reid Strategies poll suggests.

Sixty-five per cent of the respondents would legalize marijuana in order to minimize violence, while 35 per cent think harsher penalties for marijuana trafficking are the answer. [Vancouver Sun]

This question could be criticized for putting words in the respondents' mouths. Still, it's notable that, given a choice, so many opted to conclude that violence is a consequence of prohibition. Once that concept is understood, the whole idea of a war on drugs pretty much falls apart.

A new ABC poll shows that 46% of Americans favor legalizing personal use of marijuana. That's the highest number we've ever seen and, interestingly, it's doubled in only 12 years. Wow.

The idea of fixing our marijuana policy is enjoying a meteoric rise in popularity. It's particularly noteworthy when you consider how vigorously the previous administration campaigned to convince the public that marijuana is highly toxic and evil. They have thrown everything but the kitchen sink at us, and here we are, stronger than ever before.

So how does one explain such a dramatic shift in public perceptions surrounding marijuana policy?

Here's Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan on CBS' Face the Nation:


As I watched this, I just kept wondering why our president couldn't say something so sensible. Ambassador Sarukhan didn't endorse legalization, but he acknowledged that it's an important topic of discussion. People are getting killed in Mexico while our President makes jokes about the popularity of pot. It's not funny. It's deadly serious.

Anyone who tries to turn the marijuana debate into a frivolous punch-line is making a mockery of the human lives that are being lost or destroyed everyday in this brutal war. It isn’t about bong hits or hippies, and anybody who tries to make it about that is obstructing the process of implementing reforms that will save lives.

With the help of our intern, Stacia Cosner of SSDP fame, we put together this short video last week:

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition's Howard Wooldridge is commonly known on Capitol Hill as "the guy with the hat." Howard debated drug legalization on the Al Jazeera network this week -- check it out below: