I want to thank everyone for their comments, questions and recommendations on our first diary. Seeing our first post near the top of the Rec List meant a lot to me and my staff, so once again thank you all very much. We were asked a variety of questions and we will be responding to all of them in a separate diary coming out later this week, but given the news from the Obama Administration yesterday, I thought this would be a good time to address the question of Drug Policy.
The Obama Administration has recently announced that the Justice Department will not prosecute those who use marijuana medicinally in compliance with state laws. This is a bold and important step, but is not enough. There is no guarantee that a successive Republican administration won't simply reverse the policy. We need to make this change permanent and that can only be done through federal legislation.
I believe it is time to legalize marijuana. It is now safe to say that the War on Drugs is a complete failure. We have not stopped the escalation of substance abuse and we unreasonably punish those who would benefit from treatment. Our prisons are full of the casualties of this futile war, men and women whose lives have been disrupted by a relatively minimal mistake.
Meanwhile, states have made reforms to existing marijuana laws, decriminalizing and in some cases legalizing the plant for medicinal purposes. But some states have been reluctant to follow suit because of the threat of superseding federal law. In fact, Illinois' Senate has passed SB 1381 to legalize medical marijuana and we are currently awaiting passage by the Illinois House. One of the reasons local lawmakers are hesitant is the fear that federal policy might make any state law meaningless. I hope that the move by the Obama administration will spur action on this legislation and bring us closer to a sensible drug policy.
If elected, I will support Barney Frank's recent proposals: HR 2835 and HR 2943. The first permits states to regulate marijuana use free of federal preemption and the second decriminalizes the possession of small amounts of marijuana. These are important steps to take as we finally acknowledge that this country must reform its drug laws. The current system is just not working and we need to move in a new direction.
Once again we will be answering all the questions from our previous diary later in the week. Thank you all again for your warm welcome to this community.
Jim
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