Pubdate: Wed, 21 Apr 2010
Source: Tufts Daily (MA Edu)
Copyright: 2010 Tufts Daily
Contact:  http://www.tuftsdaily.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2705
Author: Greg Beach

POTOMAC TOKES AND T'OUGHTS

I've been in Washington, D.C. this semester and I could  probably give
some insight and perspective into what's  going on down here. But
really, I am so ridiculously  tired of talking about Washington
politics. So, I'm  going to write about the legalization of weed.
Where to  begin? Oh man, I feel like so much is going on in the  world
of cannabis legalization that it's hard to catch  you up. Rather, I
would like to stress to you my  confidence in a prediction that I made
in the beginning  of this school year. I had said that I thought
cannabis  will be legalized before 2010 is over. It seems clearer  now
than it ever did. Still skeptical? Well, read on.

Exhibit A - California: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger  has said that 
it is time to debate marijuana  legalization. A bill to legalize the 
plant passed in  its committee this year; unfortunately, the 
legislative  session ended shortly after, and the slate was 
wiped  clean. A 2009 Field Poll reports that 56 percent 
of  Californians support legalization. There is an  initiative to 
legalize on the ballot in 2010, a  gubernatorial election year. If 
you can't put this all  together and see electoral success, well, you 
need to  stop hanging around with all those pessimists. They're  bad 
news bears.

California, along with many states throughout the  Union, is going
through tough economic times. In this  instance, "tough economic
times" means that the state's  treasury is broke with tens of billions
of dollars in  debt. It has been estimated that legalizing marijuana
would produce $1.4 billion in tax revenue. While it may  not save
California, it will make the decline a little  less painful. The icing
on the cake is California's  existing legal system of marijuana
distribution. The  medical marijuana industry in California is
booming,  and though it has its institutional flaws, it is not  the
disaster that many have predicted it would have  been.

Exhibit B - the West Coast (as a region): Oregon and  Washington also
have initiatives on the 2010 ballots  that would legalize cannabis.
Though neither have  officially qualified, their ultimate
qualification  seems inevitable. This of course means that there is a
chance, however unlikely, that the entire West Coast  could legalize.
I may be visiting the "Left Side" for  the first time this summer;
I'll report my impressions  from the ground when I return.

Exhibit C - the Obama administration: In 2004,  President Barack Obama
claimed that he was in favor of  "decriminalizing" marijuana. His
medical marijuana  policies since taking office have been a major
victory  for states' rights advocates; though there have been a  few
rogue Drug Enforcement Administration raids, the  situation is vastly
superior to the Bush years. While  the drug czar, Director of the
Office of National Drug  Control Policy Gil Kerlipowske, claims that
legalization is not in his or the president's  vocabulary, he also
refuses to say that the federal  government will take action against
any state that  legalizes. I think the White House has too much to
deal  with to fight a battle over marijuana. Come on, the  president
inhaled frequently; that was, after all, the  point. Say what you will
about this administration,  they aren't idiots. They understand that
the current  drug policy, especially that of marijuana, is
unsustainable. These harsh drug laws ha! ve consequences  for the
individual (their loss of liberty) and society,  which brings me to...

Exhibit D - the Mexican drug war: Since the Mexican  military
escalated action against the drug cartels in  2006, 19,603 people have
been killed. That figure is  more than the American casualties for
Iraq, Afghanistan  and Sept. 11 combined, and it's all happening just
south of the border. The problem is so pervasive that a  military
victory is impossible. While the Mexican  government fights a futile
war, the United States  government ignores its central role in the
conflict. Or  does it ... "Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs
fuels the drug trade ... Our inability to prevent  weapons from being
illegally smuggled across the border  to arm these criminals causes
the deaths of police  officers, soldiers and civilians ... I feel very
  strongly we have a co−responsibility," U.S.  Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton said on March 26,  2009. OK, so the United States
acknowledges it is at  fault here. America has smeared egg on its own
face ...  so when is it going to! get around to wiping it off?

I must say that I am most convinced that the federal  government will
not intervene in the West Coast's  legalization experiment because of
the war in Mexico.  Mexico has already shown its drug reform
intentions by  legalizing the possession of small amounts of all drugs
  in 2009. The Obama administration - Vice President Joe  Biden
notwithstanding - must be aware of how ridiculous  the criminalization
of cannabis is. They also  understand the very real threat to national
security  posed by the endless Mexican conflict. If nothing else,
Obama has proven to be non−ideological,  relatively speaking. I
am certain that he understands  that cannabis legalization will happen
eventually. Why  not let California take the political heat and win
some  points with conservatives by playing up the state  rights card?

I know it seems crazy. The United States of America is  at a tipping
point. We need to make some decisions  about how we're going to deal
with our problems. The  War on Drugs is one of those problems. The
legalization  of cannabis could usher in a new day of more open and
honest discussion of drug policy reform. The only way  the Mexican
drug war can be won is if all illegal drugs  are taken out of criminal
hands. Regardless, the  legalization of cannabis would reap
significant  benefits almost immediately. No longer would the
criminalization of marijuana be used as a tool of  racial prejudice,
such as the case of New York City's  disproportionately black and
Latino arrests for  marijuana possession. No longer would it be used
to  take children away from their parents. Farmers would  again tap
into the rich resource that is the hemp  plant. It's only a matter of
time, but that doesn't  mean we should just sit around and wait for
it. People  need to be vocal about their opp! osition to the current
drug regime or nothing will change. If we're loud  enough, by the end
of this year, we will live in a much  greener country.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake