Legal Commentary

Pot, Prisons and the Elephant in the Room

By Jeralyn

Reuters columnist Bernard Debussman has a good column examining the elephant in the room in the debate on the war on drugs:

In 1980, we had 41,000 drug offenders in prison; today we have more than 500,000, an increase of 1,200 percent.” The elephant has ambled out of the bedroom and has become the object of a lively debate on the pros and cons of legalising drugs.

He examines theories as to why the momentum towards marijuana legalization is picking up steam. He also explains why legalization is making sense to so many people right now: [More...]

Contrary to widespread perceptions, marijuana accounts, by many estimates, for considerably more than half the illegal drugs smuggled from Mexico to the United States.

The argument for legalizing marijuana, and eventually other drugs, is straightforward: it would transform a law-and-order problem into a problem of public health. A side effect of particular importance at a time of deep economic crisis: it would save billions of dollars now spent on law enforcement and add billions in revenues if drugs were taxed.

He notes the disparity in treatment among post offenders as exemplified by Sen. Jim Webb's statement that "tens of thousands of passive users and petty dealers" are languishing in our prisons, while on 4/20 in Boulder:

There, on a sunny Monday, a crowd estimated at more than 10,000 converged on the campus of the University of Colorado to light up marijuana joints, whose smoke hung over the scene like a grey blanket. Overhead, an aircraft dragged a banner with the words “Hmmm, smells good up here.” Police watched but made no arrests and issued no fines.

He correctly notes reformers shouldn't put their hopes for change on President Obama who has said he opposes legalization.

He ends with a question about whether Sen. Webb's commission, should it ever get implemented and finished, can effect the change.

The so-called Shafer report, whose members were appointed by then-president Richard Nixon, found in 1972 that “neither the marijuana user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety” and recommended that there should be no criminal penalties for personal use and casual distribution.

Nixon rejected the report. He had already declared “war on drugs”, and American prisons soon began filling up.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on May 03, 2009 (boomark / email).