As many of you already know, a bill was finally introduced in California recently - by a Democrat, no less - calling for the full legalization of marijuana. This is great news for Californians, freedom lovers, and consumers. Frankly my only disappointment is that this common sense legislation wasn't introduced in Oregon (my home state) by a ballsy politician.
I think most progressives are practical and open-minded about this issue, but I fear that their embrace of 'decriminalization' is poorly thought out and in fact a great disservice to a movement that they'd actually support. I'm not sure why the notion of 'decriminalization' is many people's (not just Democrats) preferred way of describing their position on marijuana usage. I suspect it's because they are afraid of being laughed at or considered a 'dirty hippy'. Well take off your marijuana discussion training wheels because it's time to stop being mealymouthed about this issue and discuss just like we discuss alcohol or cigarettes!
Follow me past the jump to find out why 'decriminalization' is probably not what you think it is and why you should in fact be supporting - and talking about - full legalization.
We are all familiar with the problems with the drug war. For the purposes of this discussion, we'll limit things to the war on marijuana for now though many of these arguments could be applied to all illicit substances. First, some facts:
- Marijuana is the 3rd most widely used recreational drug in America. According the Department of Health & Human Services, it has been used by nearly 100,000,000 Americans and 15,000,000 American use it at least monthly, despite harsh laws against it's use.
- Marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers more than $10 billion annually and resulted in the arrests of 870,000+ people in 2007, far more than the total # of people arrested for all violent crimes combined. Most of the people arrested (89%) were arrested for simple possession and among the remaining arrestees are those charged with sale/manufacture, a category which includes all cultivation offenses, even those where it was grown for personal or medical use.
The problems with marijuana prohibition are not caused by marijuana itself but by the very fact that it is an illegal substance and as a result:
- Marijuana prohibition guarantees (by definition) that the only people selling the drug will be criminals and all profits from marijuana sales will go to criminals & gangs.
- Cannabis prohibition results in artificially high prices that attract drug cartels who wage bloody battles against each other in an attempt to control the sale & distribution of marijuana. This is exactly what happened during alcohol prohibition, too.
- Cannabis prohibition means that producers are not subject to environmental, labor and safety standards. Producers often operate in risky and environmentally damaging circumstances, even in national parks & wilderness ares.
Decriminalization does nothing to fix any of these problems.
Decriminalization proposals tend to either allow for the possession of small amounts of marijuana (Barney Frank proposes 3.5 oz in his bill) or assess a fine for those who are caught possessing. Some proposals, like Frank's, allow for the 'not-for-profit' transfer of small amounts of marijuana, also.
One of the main problems with 'decriminalization' is that it lacks the regulation and tax collecting possibilities that many otherwise sensible people mistakenly think it would address. Instead, what you would have are police officers assessing fines to people they catch, which would no doubt raise some money but in a manner that is uneven and haphazard.
Possession of larger amounts of marijuana would still be illegal meaning that the black market would still exist higher up the chain, resulting in still articificially expensive marijuana. And, as we see in the news practically every day, artificially high prices for drugs attract really bad characters, like violent drug cartels, criminal gangs, etc. 'Decriminalizing' small amounts would still not address the public safety & environmental problems of criminals growing on public land, in national forests, etc.
'Decriminalization' would also not be an effective way of dealing with quality issues. Sellers would still be able to sell tainted product. Unlicensed sellers in a 'decriminalization' regime would still be free to sell their product to children, unlike people who sell cigarettes or alcohol now.
Why legalization?
The reason the marijuana must be legalized and treated like alcohol (for example) is so that it can be properly taxed in a systematic manner and regulated.
Legalization and taxation will take the money right out of the drug cartels & criminal's hands and put it into the hands of the government thereby depriving the cartel's of what the New York Times recently called their 'bread & butter' (marijuana).
Regulation will ensure that products are inspected and that quality is assured. It will also ensure that illegal growers will no longer have to hide their operations in national forests, etc. Regulation will also allow us to outlaw the sale of marijuana to people under a certain age, just as alcohol & cigarettes sales to minors are against the law now.
Conclusion:
Decriminalization is a half-step that will not do anything to address some of the major concerns surrounding marijuana (cartel violence, illicit grow operations, lack of quality control, sales to children, etc.) It is only thru full legalization that these issues can be addressed.
If what you really support is legalization, make sure to actually use the word legalization instead of 'decriminalization'.
If you're a Californian and would like to help pass a truly revolutionary law (that will also raise a lot of money for the state), get involved! Call your representative and the members of the committee! You can read more about the bill here:
http://calitics.com/...
And join a facebook action group here:
http://www.facebook.com/...
Non-Californians, familiarize yourself with the difference between 'decriminalization' and legalization. Support local groups (NORML, etc.) that are active in your area and finally, urge your state & federal representatives to support full legalization. Whoever does this first will deliver a lot of new, badly needed jobs & revenue to their state and look like a frackin' genius.