Pubdate: Tue, 24 Sep 2013
Source: Badger Herald (U of WI, Madison, WI Edu)
Copyright: 2013 Badger Herald
Contact: http://badgerherald.com/contact/
Website: http://www.badgerherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/711
Author: Aaron Loudenslager
Note: Aaron Loudenslager is a second year law student.

WISCONSIN MARIJUANA POLICY MOVING IN WRONG DIRECTION

The movement for legalizing marijuana, either medically or 
recreationally, is gaining traction in individual states across the 
country. While many states are progressing on marijuana policy - 
i.e., decriminalizing or legalizing medical or recreational marijuana 
- - Wisconsin has been stagnant, if not even regressive, as of late on 
its own marijuana policy.

Just recently the Wisconsin Senate passed a bill which, according to 
Minnesota Public Radio, "would allow for municipalities to enact 
ordinances prohibiting possession of any amount of marijuana and give 
them the authority to prosecute second offenses." While the "get 
tough on crime" approach to drug policy is favored by many 
legislators, both at the state and federal level, it inevitably does 
not work - especially with regards to marijuana. Instead of the 
regressive marijuana bill just passed by the Senate, the Assembly and 
Gov. Scott Walker should advocate for the legalization and taxation 
of recreational marijuana.

At the very least, Walker and the Assembly should enact the proposed 
bill by Sen. John Erpenbach, D-Middleton and Rep. Chris Taylor, 
D-Madison, to legalize medical marijuana statewide.

President Richard Nixon declared the start of the ill-advised War on 
Drugs in 1971. The recent trend for states in regards to their 
marijuana policy, however, is to reject marijuana prohibition. For 
example, since California became the first state to legalize medical 
marijuana in 1996, 19 states have followed suit. Not only is medical 
marijuana legalized in 20 states, Washington and Colorado have also 
legalized recreational marijuana in the past year. Why are states now 
rejecting the federal drug war, at least in regards to marijuana 
within their own state borders?

It's simple: the drug war has been an utter failure, both in terms of 
economic and social harms.

As the Global Commission on Drug Policy succinctly reported in 2011, 
"The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences 
for individuals and societies around the world." It has cost the 
United States more than $1 trillion since 1971 to enforce federal 
drug laws. Not only has it cost $1 trillion to enforce the American 
drug war over a cumulative period of more than 40 years, according to 
a 2005 report by economist Jeffery Miron, the U.S. would save 
approximately $7.7 billion in law enforcement costs annually from 
legalizing marijuana, with $5.3 billion of that savings going to 
state and local governments. According to the same report, the U.S. 
would collect $6.2 billion annually in new revenues if legalized 
marijuana were taxed at rates similar to those of alcohol and cigarettes.

Given the negative economic externalities related to marijuana 
prohibition, it is no wonder that states such as Colorado and 
Washington have moved away from marijuana prohibition and toward 
marijuana legalization and tolerance.

The federal government has also demonstrated a slight shift in 
enforcing federal marijuana policy in states that have legalized marijuana.

As President Barack Obama said in December, "It does not make sense, 
from a prioritization point of view, for us to focus on recreational 
drug users in a state that has already said that's legal."

While some states progress slowly on marijuana policy, others 
regress, such as Wisconsin. Instead of moving closer to legalizing 
recreational or medical marijuana, the Wisconsin Senate passed a bill 
that would give municipalities a stronger ability to prosecute 
nonviolent users of marijuana.

There is nothing wrong, as a general proposition, with giving 
municipalities more power over prosecuting drug offenses.

There is a problem, though, with giving municipalities more power 
over prosecuting marijuana offenses.

Prosecuting more nonviolent marijuana users has many negative 
economic externalities. Not only does marijuana prohibition have 
negative economic effects, it does not actually reduce drug use 
rates, as has been demonstrated by reports analyzing Portugal's 
policy of decriminalizing all drugs. Instead of prosecuting 
nonviolent marijuana users, it is time to legalize recreational or 
medical marijuana, as Erpenbach and Chris Taylor have proposed.

George Bernard Shaw once said, "Progress is impossible without 
change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change 
anything." Progress, in the form of legalizing medical or 
recreational marijuana, is an inevitability - it is simply a function 
of time. But unless Walker and the Wisconsin Assembly can change the 
mind of the members in the Senate and find a way to legalize either 
medical or recreational marijuana statewide, Wisconsin citizens will 
find that - at least for the time being - "progress is impossible."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom