Latest Column

Nice column JK. The sentencing aspect that Webb and Specter touch on goes to the idea of Mandatory Minimums which showboating politicians love but people who actually work in the system -judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys-recognize as simplistic.
.
This was a nice touch too JK-
.
“In fact, the default fate of any politician who publicly considers the legalization of marijuana is to be cast into the outer darkness. Such a person is assumed to be stoned all the time, unworthy of being taken seriously. Such a person would be lacerated by the assorted boozehounds and pill poppers of talk radio”

.
Nice to see this topic surfacing in major periodicals, Joe…and to add that Michigan will start accepting applications for permits to use medical marijuana this weekend…also that:

In the wake of the Michigan vote [to legalize medical marijuana], legislatures in other states, including Illinois, Minnesota and New Jersey, are advancing bills to legalize the medical use of marijuana, and Michigan will be watched carefully to see how it works…

I’d provide more info, but all of a sudden I’m hungry…

I wish that, instead of getting cute, you’d just come right out and said it. Our current policy is wildly counterproductive and immoral. We survived the end of alcohol prohibition, we’ll get by just fine with the end of marijuana prohibition.
-
Just how fringe, really, is support for legalization?
-
Helpful noises, some funny lines, but in the end, it’s conventional wisdom a bit dolled up. C+.

JK — I agree this conversation is long overdue and just as the last depression made us recognize that the moral majority of that period advocated a policy that was economically, socially and politically untenable, this depression-lite ought help us do the same. We ended prohibition then and we ought to end it now. And to those who object the so called moral hazard of legalizing marijuana is what exactly?
.
Are the religious zealots saying that a product provided by God, that comes from the land and needs no intervention by man to exist immoral? Is it immoral to use a product that helps you unwind and relieve stress after a brutal day at the office? And what about the moral hazard of continuing to support a policy that is clearly not working? Are we passing on to our children that it is more moral to be stupid than to be high?

.
Elvisberg: I wish that, instead of getting cute, you’d just come right out and said it.
.
Disagree; we’re not the audience for this piece. If you can get the sticks-in-the-mud that were horrified by Reefer Madness to laugh, they’ll be less likely to raise a fuss when someone finally does seriously start pushing for legalization.
.
There’s also stories to be written about medical marijuana users, the pain they suffer, and the stew of painkillers and anti-psychotic drugs they would have to take instead of eating a pot-laced brownie.

Joe I really really like this article. Especially because you presented the case in a way that has to be taken seriously even while keeping it light hearted at the beginning and the end. You even rightly point out that even had President Obama wanted to answer question of legalization differently it was not a politically viable time to do so. But I think the part I liked the most was you calling out Rush Limbaugh without ever having to use his name. I am sure there are other pill popping alchoholics on the radio who make a living taking pot shots at President Obama but I think most folks will make the connection to Rushbo immediately.
.
Good on you!

Part of the reason we don’t have a serious discussion about marijuana laws in this country is that the participants can’t keep from giggling. Present company included.

Great column, Joe. Something is wrong, I’m liking almost everything you’re writing these days.
.
This is great: The hypocrisy inherent in the American conversation about stimulants is staggering.
.
You could have put any number of things in place of “stimulants” there though.
.
There really is no sound argument for the further prohibition of Mary Jane. What’s crazy is these synthetic drugs that Big Pharma is pushing on people, they have crazy side effects and pose much more danger to youngsters who think it must be kinda safe because it’s legal.

I also have to be honest and say Obama disappointed me with his flippant response to the question. This is a serious issue and it’s not just about being able to get high.
.
I live in Texas and the border situation is getting ridiculous. Our drug laws play an important part in that fiasco taking place down there. There’s nothing funny about it.
.
There’s also nothing funny about locking up non violent people with my tax dollars.
.
Nobody can be everything to everybody, but I can still be disappointed.

JK, you are now an honorary Fabulous Furry Freak Brother, having exemplified on a macro scale the central thesis: weed will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no weed. This is actually a case where the Prez is behind the drift and a bit out of touch with everyday people, but he’ll do the right thing I think if given sufficient cover by (relatively) sober, mainstream people. The legacy of this whole disaster has become way too big a burden and it’s time to lay it down. It has always been about the money… Congress was lied to, the ABA and AMA were both opposed to criminalization, and the whole exercise in demonizing a plant has been a complete and utter waste of time and money and everything else. Cut the liquor people in on it, tax it, treat it like alcohol, and that will be that. If nothing else there will be a big improvement in popular music. And I say there’ll be a dramatic lack of interest in harder drugs if you can buy a pack of good weed at a local liquor store for twenty bucks.

somepeople
.
I felt the same way for about half a day and then I thought it over and really I don’t think he could have handled it any other way than to just ignore the question. But having an online town hall means that you have to address what is asked. Now after watching it again its apparent to me that some folks had told Obama not to address the question, which is why he brought it up himself. But when he is trying to get his budget passed I am not sure how fair it was for me to think he was going to seriously address the question. Especially with our gotcha media. I think Joe has it exactly right about how it would have gone down had President Obama given a serious answer to that question. Hell he said no and the media STILL made an issue out of it. The fact thtat Eric Holder has said that the feds will stop raiding medical marijuana shops in states that allow them and Obama’s own earlier statements about decriminalizing marijuana to me show that he has given the issue serious thought and will continue to do so. But there are times when a politician is right to take political considerations into account. I want weed legalized but not at the expense of the President’s budget with money for green energy, health care, and education.
.
Oh and since Glenn Beck is now saying that Obama isn’t a socialist but a facist I don’t think he needs any more stereotypes and smears to combat

Great column Joe! Brave post. Love this line:
…
“Such a person would be lacerated by the assorted boozehounds and pill poppers of talk radio.”
…
It’s true, I wish I could get high just once in a blue moon, away from cars, the kids, the job, just as a mental health break. It would do me a world of good, but of course I can’t because of my job, reputation, and family, due to the illegality of pot.
…

somepeoplelikeit — I totally understand why you might expect Obama to take this more seriously, and I would say in reality he actually has in terms of his appointment of the Seattle police chief that openly told his officers to ignore marijuana crimes (or something to that effect — I admit I am not entirely sure I read it in passing but the gist was in practical terms he made it a really low priority for the department).
.
Realistically, Obama can’t come out in favor of marijuana legalization In a country where the dominant frame of reference for opposition to marijuana is “reefer madness.” A black president would be serving himself up like a lamb to the slaughter if he took on this issue. Clearly, at a time like this, when we need a president who can reboot this nation this would be the equivalent to Clinton’s gays in the military, that many argue hobbled his presidency from the outset.
.
Sorry folks, on top of the political backlash, he also faces what every parent faces when they have the drug discussion with their children. There is no way that this dad is going to advocate marijuana legalization on tape that his daughters will be able to play back on a continuous loop down the road.

I’d've liked to read something more unequivocal and less jokey, but pretty much everyone else posting here thinks that this is the best way to do it. I certainly hope that you are all right and I am wrong.

Dee,
You raise a good point but riddle me this. What ‘hot-button’ or ‘culture-war’ issue can you think of that isn’t a spillover from the basic conflicts between parents and their children?

SG and Dee, I can’t argue with what you are saying. There have been several instances where I thought Obama should do one thing, he does another thing and turns out to be right. You both make the point that it would be harder for him to do what he needs to do right now, and it’s a valid one.
.
But Dee, I don’t believe “reefer madness” is the dominant point of view any longer. Elvis has a great link above. What I didn’t like about what Obama did was that he laughed at it and the crowd joined him. It was a laugh fest at the stoners. My point is that it’s bigger than the stoners. If this was a different issue that could put billions into the economy and make our streets and borders safer many would be outraged that he laughed it off. He furthered the perception that it’s okay to laugh it off.
.
The timing may not be right politically, but the timing is right socially and economically. I think the opposition to this is more of a paper tiger than people realize.
.
And if Glenn Beck said it, I believe it. Especially if he’s crying.

While in the private practice of law about fifteen years ago, I represented a guy whose job (with a defense contractor) depended on retaining a security clearance. After ten years the clearance came up for renewal. Being honest (or afraid of being caught lying), he admitted on the questionnaire to having taken one puff of one reefer a few years earlier. He was in a group just sitting around when someone else lit up a joint and passed it around. He felt it was more decorous to take a puff than ostentatiously avoid it. (We never discussed whether he inhaled.) That was his total drug use over a period of ten years.
.
Well! You’d think he’d admitted to being Jack the Ripper. We had him attend a dozen sessions with a therapist (courtesy of his employer), and he put on such a good act for the authorities you’d have thought he was actually repentant. In fact, he and I both knew it was a farce — and so did his therapist, who testified that he was now capable of resisting such temptations, and so did the Feds who were charged with deciding whether he got to keep his clearance. He eventually got a two-year probationary extension and a stern lecture. And I don’t know how many of those of us who participated in this absurdity were able to stifle their laughter after the last session broke up.
.
Thus prohibition doth make hypocrites of us all. I’m sufficiently ancient that during the years when I was most likely to have experimented with pot I would have had no idea how to get some even if I’d wanted to. But back then pot was the “gateway to heroin,” and I was afraid of it. I don’t smoke anything, marijuana included, never have. But that’s my personal decision. If others choose otherwise, I can’t see any basis for punishing them in any way, let alone putting them in prison for years.
.
In many ways this country is collectively mentally impaired, and marijuana prohibition is one of them. And since I’m not that far from 80 any more, I’m willing to sign up for Joe’s bargain. I’m not all that great a drive anymore, and I live close to a subway line. Bring it on, Joe!

somepeople
.
Unfortunately in this country its often times the paper tigers that rule our politics. Remember the stimulus bill fight with all the stupid arguments about stuff that sounded funny but were actually beneficial like the family planning provision and volcano monitoring? It sucks but its the reality we all live in.

SG, Unfortunately in this country its often times the paper tigers that rule our politics.
.
True. But that bill did pass. If something is right, stupid arguments shouldn’t stop you. I think you guys are right though, maybe now is just not the time. It’s just hard to accept that the correctness and justness of this takes a back seat to political BS.
.
That could be true of any number of issues though, I suppose.
.
I think it should be a state issue anyway.

somepeople
.
Well when you think about it, it IS now a states issue precisely because Holder said the federal government won’t overstep state law anymore. That could be interpreted as a wink and a nod to people on the state level to start pushing for legalization at that level and let it work its way up. I know you can get medical marijuana in a hell of a lot of states now and thats something nobody would have believed just 20 years ago. So maybe thats where we should be putting our efforts.

Dee: It was the Seattle voters who passed an initiative that marijuana should be the lowest enforcement priority.
.
Kerlikowske is considered fairly moderate on this issue, but in that particular case it was the voters.
.
I just wish the Federal government would defer to the states on this issue.

about stuff that sounded funny but were actually beneficial.
.
Don’t forget Hog Manure Odor Abaitment!
.
It remains my favorite.

Good column, Joe. Clearly you are a filthy, degenerate pothead (kidding, kidding). 2 points:
.
1) I’m sure you have very limited (if any) control over this, but the header graphic and the paragraph end links in the column really undermine your argument by bringing it back to Cheech & Chong and DFHs.
.
2) This is largely picking a nit, but I don’t think specific numbers on tax revenue are going to be very accurate. It seems to me that if cannabis were legalized, the prices would invariably come down, reducing tax revenues. There’s a fair amount of risk priced in to anything illegal, and that risk pricing wouldn’t be justifiable on a legal product.

What’s crazy is these synthetic drugs that Big Pharma is pushing on people…
.
My favorite phrase – “the benefits of may outweigh the risks for some people.”
.
I could make the same statement about scooping up a mouthful of dirt and eating it.

JK: I swear you’re undergone the political equivalent of “seeing the light”. You’re my newest bestest friend. I haven’t partied in over 25 years, but if they legalize pot I’ll bring my truck to DC and me and you will trick Amy and MS into taking a ride with us. We’ll keep the windows rolled up and burn a fattie. We won’t let them out until they’re trashed and begging us to teach them how to roll. I’ll even spring for some Zig-Zag t-shirts.

Sorry – that should have read “the benefits of <fill in the blank with the drug name> may outweight the risks for some people.”
.
Using the actual < and > characters is treated like an HTML tag. My bad.

PD — I think I’m going to have to disagree about the parental factor. While it is true that most issues in contention are generational, I’m hard pressed to find an issue that would be as difficult to divorce from the emotional and behavioral responsibilities of parenting from the economic and medical realities as marijuana use.
.
I would bet that there are few parents who in the past has used recreational drugs that has not had to confront the difficulty of championing the correct behavioral path of drug abstinence with their children while simultaneously coming to grips that this is a position that seems somewhat hypocritical. — To do so on tape would only make it worse.

Don’t forget Hog Manure Odor Abaitment!
.
Paul,
.
I’d be all for a “Bovine Manure Contamination Abatement” program.
.
Starting at least at the congressional level and extending to all political parties.

somepeople — perhaps I should have been a bit more straight forward. I used “reefer madness” to represent a more encompassing point of view. However, the association of illicit drugs with the black community is still very much a dominant view. I think you find a great deal of difficulty finding a b-roll of suburban marijuana busts.
.
Only, the medical marijuana debate is likely to produce images of the dominant culture, i.e. the deserving or sympathetic user. However, criminal activity remains focused on poor minority communities, illegal Hispanic immigrants and cross border trafficking – not Canadian by the way.

Art Pepper — thanks for the clarification, but the point still remains, while it may have been initiated by the voters, he didn’t resist as others like Sheriff Joe, of pink prison garb fame, in Arizona would have.
.
for the last thirty years we have been doubling down on this war on drugs crap despite it’s obvious economic, behavioral and societal failures. I’m just glad Obama picked someone a bit more pragmatic who won’t take to the airwaves to oppose the states efforts like Barry McCaffrey.

SG, I think that is a good point. The nod and a wink is okay for now, it’s an improvement. That should be appreciated while at the same time realizing it’s not the goal.
.
Dee said: “I think you find a great deal of difficulty finding a b-roll of suburban marijuana busts.
.
Okay, I’m probably an idiot, what’s b-roll? And take the probably out of that.

afguy, I don’t understand why more outrage isn’t directed there. Some of these commercials seem like a parody of themselves. “..and sometimes death may occur.”
.
I start with heartburn and have to worry about vomiting and oily discharge in order to get rid of it. I’ll take what I got!

I don’t have a problem with legalized drugs, doing it will not be as easy as many people think. They will all have to be highly regulated, and I don’t see any mechanism in place now that could do it. Local governments will probably need the right for strict zoning laws, such as those in place for strip clubs. I don’t care if my neighbor is smoking a joint, but I will fight to make sure my kids are not exposed to the negative secondary effects of legalization–and make no mistake, there will be significant negative secondary effects, at least initially.
.
It is very easy to make a blanket statement that “drugs should be legalized”–especially considering the extreme drain on our resources that the war on drugs has created. But to wind down this misplaced “war” is not something that can be done overnight and will take careful planning.

Some of these commercials seem like a parody of themselves. “..and sometimes death may occur.”
.
somepeoplelikeit,
.
My wife and I like to ridicule the “qualifiers” on these commercials and add our own, such as: “And sometimes you’ll grow another head and bark at the moon”.
.
But, look on the bright side – you MAY get over your “post-nasal drip”.
.
Marketing at that level is just something I don’t think I could ever do, no matter the circumstances.

arbitrarystring
.
Here is the thing about legalization. Its true that the pricing may come down. But what is also true is that much broader and widespread use will probably go up if its legalized. That means that you can probably still get the same level of revenue because you have more people smoking weed and because its legal they will probably be buying on more of a regular basis and thus the revenue levels will also probably be more predictable. Besides that the end of pot busts will save truckloads of money as well and free up our jails for the people who really deserve to be there.
.
But one of the major pluses that I don’t think gets enough consideration is that you can grow weed pretty much anywhere. You know how we have so many farmers going out of business? They could transition to marijuana crops and break the bank. And unlike say the corn/ethanol industry there wouldn’t be any need to subsidize marijuana farms. Just imagine if farmers in the heartland could grow weed and make probably more money than on the crops they were already selling. Hell for that matter what if we could export marijuana just like we do wine or other alcoholic beverages, to those countries that have already legalized it? There are so many positive aspects to legalizing marijuana that people haven’t explored yet it isn’t even funny.

somepeople — b-roll is the background film used in broadcast journalism. there was once a famous teevee news footage of criminal activity where a network news organization was discussing an arrest and they sowed b-roll of five young black men being led into a paddy wagon, unfortunately the actual crime and arrest was in Sweden. When the NAACP decried the use of black imagery in this instance the network excuse was that they had no available b-roll footage of whites being arrested.

Jake2008, I agree with you when you say: “But to wind down this misplaced “war” is not something that can be done overnight and will take careful planning.”
.
But I disagree on the mechanism. Cigs are regulated, sold and taxed and the system seems to work pretty well. I don’t envision the system being too much different.
.
Also you also say: “and make no mistake, there will be significant negative secondary effects, at least initially.
What are these effects? Are you speaking healthwise? Crime wise? Increased usage?
I made this same point with Sacred a week or so ago on a different thread, I don’t think usage will spike significantly. Anybody who wants it now can pretty much get it. As a matter of fact, it’s much easier for a teen to score weed than beer or cigs. The person selling weed isn’t asking for ID. And health wise, with cig smoke out there killing left and right I don’t think this is the smoke you should worry about.

But what is also true is that much broader and widespread use will probably go up if its legalized.
.
I’m not sure that’s true.
.
Does anyone know any actual data?

SG — Not too mention the environmental benefits of using hemp as a substitute for dead tree products.
.
Jake2008 — I think we clearly have the infrastructure to do this. If we can regulate liquor and cigarettes sales we can do this as well. As far as second hand exposure, I think second hand smoke laws will suffice and its not as if all of a sudden folks are going to be out on every street corners smoking pot, and already in most locales you can’t smoke in public places, inside or out, there is even a push for parents not to be able to smoke in cars with their own children so if we are ready for that I think we can protect our young people from second hand marijuana exposure.

sgwhite:
.
I don’t disagree with anything you’re saying, but I think all the variables involved make any specific revenue projections pretty untrustworthy. Like I originally said, I was largely just nitpicking; no matter what, decriminalization and taxation would provide a sizable chunk of revenue along w/ many other positives. Precise dollar amounts are just pretty hard to nail right now.

There is always going to be people smoking pot whether it’s illegal or not. We’re not talking about thousands or tens of thousands, we’re talking about tens of millions. That’s just a simple fact. I get surprise drug tests so I can’t even consider smoking. The plain economics is that legalization would generate billions upon billions of dollars in taxes, but what about the majority of the money that DOESN’t go for taxes? Houses, cars, TV’s, appliances, clothes, food, savings, stocks, etc. The cash generated has got to go somewhere. I don’t know how much money is generated by an acre of tobacco, but weed sells for over 1/3 the price of GOLD. Is it hard to imagine a farmer wanting to get rich for one single crop in one year? If there’s one thing we’re the best at in the world, it’s farming. There was a guy just a couple of miles down the road from where we live who got busted for growing pot 3-4 years ago. The police estimated the value of their haul at 15k. He was growing it in a closet!

I with ya PD. I would like to see some data, but how can you measure that? Maybe a country that has decriminilized has data? I’m at work so I can’t google MJ studies all day, anybody free to do so?
.
SG, see my earlier post to Jake2008. I just don’t see usage going up all that much.
.
Dee, thanks for the clarification.

Joe,
If you look at the legislative and judicial history carefully, you will see that even justices of the Supreme Court and many senators have joked that the anti-Marijuana laws make no sense. Everyone knows Marijuana is relatively harmless except those that have never been exposed to it and live in their nuclear bunkers with their aluminum foil helmets.
.
Let’s be real though, despite the scanty research on marijuana, I have personal experiences that dictate that marijuana is both addicting and hard to withdraw from. I am a self-admitted former pothead. In one year alone, I spent $19,000 on marijuana (and I dutifully kept the excel spreadsheet to prove it). I would smoke three marijuana CIGARS a day, to myself. I couldn’t handle the boredom of being sober — everything was better stoned. I’d go jogging and to the gym stoned. On dates stoned. I was the Jon Stewart character from half-baked. And what was worse, my academics didn’t suffer — I’d only succeed more in this state. Nothing was stopping me. I spent 6 months withdrawing from the marijuana in an agony of insomnia, depression and anxiety. I stopped because I realized that 6 years of my life had gone by and I hardly remembered it. I still smoke occasionally, in private, but not NEARLY as often as I used to (and even this is a struggle against my will).
.
I believe marijuana legalization should not equal marijuana deregulation, but reform. If we’re going to have a marijuana market in the open, let’s educate our kids in schools about the uses and possible side effects (leaving out all the comedy). There’s something way more beautiful to life when your brain is crisp and you experience everything in vivid fashion. While anti-pot commercials that show people crashing cars because of pot use is ridiculous, the one showing the kid in the room with everything happening around him in fast forward is highly accurate. Let’s be smart about this and not go the way of unbanning liquor for decades before we started anti-drunk driving campaigns and such. Keep society informed!

persianadvocate: I think you may have had other underlying problems such as an addictive personality. I smoked every day in amounts that far exceeded your own use for 12 years and never had withdraw symptoms when i quit. The day they announced that they were considering drug tests, I quit. There was no depression, anxiety, insomnia and certainly no agony. The only thing I noticed was that disco really did suck. Tobacco is what addicted me. I never even smoked a single cigareete until I was 45 years old. I’m still addicted to them. I’ve quit several times but always go back. I haven’t smoked a single joint since the very early 80′s. I haven’t had a desire to.

Does anyone realize that if we do legalize mary jane that people all over will be buying it and smoking it nearly everywhere?
.
Which means that most of us will wind up getting stoned if we go anywhere in public.
.
Food consumption will skyrocket, and our sensibilities will be significantly affected.
.
Which means, in summary, we will become a nation of fat Republicans..

persianadvocate:
.
I think your withdrawal experiences are atypical. I do agree in principle with your main point, though. Like almost everything else, moderation is key. Slow-walk decriminalization and strict regulation is probably a better approach than sudden legalization from that perspective; most people know that guy who had incredibly repressive parents and lived in a bubble until he went to college and then binged himself into abject failure.

53_3:
.
LOL. By that logic, would aerosol methamphetamine turn us all into neocons?

“LOL. By that logic, would aerosol methamphetamine turn us all into neocons?”
.
Yikes! Too scary. Maybe Avigdor Leiberman had drones doing that very thing over in Israel. Bless his compassionate soul…
.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7978605.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7979666.stm

Actually, to be serious, I think we should legalize it, too.
.
I know of a few nephews who are a bit too far into the it, but despite that, I think the savings in law enforcement and being able to put the cartels out of business is worth it.
.
I don’t think that there will be much change in the conduct of the public.
.
The only thing different will be getting used to frequent exposure to the characteristically oddly sharp smell.

Well, allow me to clarify that the withdrawal wasn’t akin to that experienced when withdrawing from opiates, barbituates, amphetamines, alcohol, and a slew of other drugs — indeed, it was far less brutal.
.
Consider it what you will, but as a person who really enjoyed being high ALL of the time, it was agony being sober and bored for the 6 months after. My point is, we have to educate people about moderation and the dangers of easily falling into the excessive use category. It really DOES happen. It’s not as bad as alcoholism, per se, but it’s a reality. I ask prude legislators to simply consult the potheads

And God said, “let them smoke their dope”. Please please legalize it, then the world can get back to a better place as the liberals are “legally” stoned out of the minds.

I think a percentage of the tax money would be well spent funding clinics for people to addicted to any substance including alcohol. Some of the money could go to drug awaremess programs in our schools too. My wife also quit shortly after I did. She also had no withdraw symptoms. I smoked in the vicinity of 20-30 joints a day.

Actually rusty, us liberals will think the RW is even crazier than they really are. If conservatives act the way they do and aren’t using drugs…what possible excuse can they have for their behavior?

Exactly Rusty, it’s from god. What do you think that “burning bush” that made Moses see the light was all about?

If conservatives act the way they do and aren’t using drugs…what possible excuse can they have for their behavior?
.
I’d guess ergot poisoning in Rusty’s case.

Marijuana should be considered like alcohol or healing substances/methods – a portion of people react differently depending on their chemistry or state of mind. Some people are mellow, happy drinkers, others are belligerent, violent drinkers. I’ve never met a belligerent, violent pot smoker, but I’ve seen personality types that pot doesn’t compliment very well. What I’m saying is that it’s not a black & white issue – it has gray areas – like anything we struggle with regarding personal freedom vs. society’s greater good. I’m very much in support of legalization for medical, recreational, economic, and industrialized hemp purposes, but also believe legalization needs to be ushered in carefully with apt regulation. When it does finally get legalized, I think we will experience a few, maybe many more years of getting past the demonization around it. I can’t see people immediately lighting up on the streets or telling people around the water cooler how stoned they were the night before. President Obama has much bigger issues to tackle at this time, but I don’t think legalization is absent from his radar.

Latest Column
.
On marijuana.
.
Yes, I know that you write all your columns while you’re on marijuana. But what is this one about?

Great post JK. The most startling figure from the article is “47.5% of all arrests are marijuana-related.” The US is locking up way too many people for the recreational use of pot. Marijuana should be legalized. Millions of people are already smoking it.
.
Also, I like when there is a marijuana bust and the police say that the street value of the pot was (insert some really large number here). The police weigh the whole plant and the roots and come up with this number that makes it sound like a really big bust.
.
I think legalizing marijuana for medical uses and decriminalizing pot at the local level is going to the way that overall legalization comes about.

You know CP, that number you point out is amazing. Just the decriminilization of personal amounts would be an amazing victory. That local money could go elsewhere, instead of housing DFH’s.
.
Too bad putting people in jail is a business enterprise itself. Oops, that’s a whole other thread.

I put up a blog post on this. http://kroydblog.blogspot.com/
.
What struck me was that I’m pretty sure the majority of the people in that room laughing at the stoners on line have taken a toke or two. But they’re not in jail, and won’t be.

Think of all the 4th of July picnics and how nice the fireworks would look. I’ll put out a glass of milk and a plate of brownies for Santa on Christmas Eve. I’m going to ask for a 67″ widescreen HDTV this year.

The plain fact is that the federal government has no moral or constitutional right to take the liberty or property of individuals for simply possessing such contraband, especially as long as it continues to sell and tax alcohol and tobacco. If anything, it should be protecting individual citizen’s liberty rights against state laws that seek to restrict them.

Joe,

It is good to see your coverage of the marijuana issue. The snarky tone of the column concerned me.

In 2007 870,000 Americans were arrested for marijuana crimes, 90% for possession only. To those people this is no laughing matter. I was arrested in Texas for possession of marijuana. I was traveling through the state to New Orleans.

The police seized my car, my bank accounts, I spent 90 days in jail and am saddled with a felony convictions that makes it near impossible for me to get a good job.

Thank you for the coverage of the issue, please keep in mind that there are reel victims of the war on drugs and we know the serious effects that the war has on our lives.

Good stuff Joe. Preaching to the choir. However, as previously stated, the estimates of a 14 billion cash crop in CA would no longer be true at legal prices. There’s no way the cost of MJ won’t nosedive when legal. I do think that much of that will be made up by the jobs created not only in production, but in all supporting industries as well. While estimate may vary, the net savings and revenue would be huge.

I just reading a Washington Independent article about your favorite “National Security” source Pete Hoekstra:

‘ I was just talking to Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), who’s leaving Congress to run for governor of Michigan, about his proposed Parental Rights Amendment — a constitutional change that would, among other things, prevent “any source of international law” to override parents’ rights. He gave me an example of how open some Democrats were to handing over American rights.
“I’m watching Neil Cavuto,” said Hoesktra, “and I see [Treasury Secretary] Tim Geithner is talking about how he might be OK with a world currency. I don’t think Americans are going to be comfortable with that. You’re going to see things that people perceive as eroding American sovereignty — this is something that’s clearly un-American. I mean, here’s the secretary of the Treasury, and instead of defending the United States and defending our currency, he’s saying he might be open to a world currency. What does that mean? It means turning our currency over to the UN.”‘

To think you parroted this guy’s talking points when it came to FISA. He is as stupid as Michelle Bachmann…what does that make you?

Great column Joe. I’m of an age where I and most of my contemporaries smoked in our youth, but Andrew Sullivan’s been posting emails from closeted smokers and I’ll admit to being surprised at how widespread pot use is now.
.
I’m a caregiver a few hours every week for a woman who is 87 and has a deteriorated spine, and who is in constant, debilitating pain. Just being with her exhausts me. Narcotics don’t particularly work and are robbing her of her lucidity. I was thinking just the other day how I’d like to be able to give her some pot, but I don’t think she’d take it if I had it (or maybe I’m wrong – the pain is truly awful). But you and I and our friends will reach that age and be ready to embrace this solution (um, we’d ready to embrace it now if we were in pain)
.
Vermont’s got a reputation as being liberal, but good ole’ Doctor Dean would never countenance the investigation of marijuana for medical use. And then a couple of years ago a 60 yr old female family court judge was found with enough pot to charge her with a felony, only the DA in her county reduced the charges to a misdemeanor, and he was vilified for being so lax. But the case started a good public conversation about how we deal with possession. And yes, for a good many years pot was listed as Vermont’s number one cash crop. http://www.lineofduty.com/content/view/92121/128/
.
I heard Obama live, and I basically thought “He’s a different generation. Doesn’t understand.”

Joe Klein: “And so, a deal: give us drugs, after a certain age — say, 80 — all drugs, any drugs we want. In return, we will give you our driver’s licenses.”

-

I have a better deal: Why don’t we allow members of the Democrat party to consume all of the crack, dope, meth, heroine, whatever, that they want to consume, and in return, all members of the Democrat party will give up any right that they may have to ever cast a vote in any public election? Only the most thoughtful states prohibit convicted felons from ever voting again, so that leaves plenty of Democrats in California, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, etc., capable of destroying the United States with their votes. My solution would take care of that clear, dire threat to the United States.

“There’s no way the cost of MJ won’t nosedive when legal. I do think that much of that will be made up by the jobs created not only in production, but in all supporting industries as well.”
.
I’ve always figured that corporate demand to commercialize cannabis never caught fire (so-to-speak) because there was no economic model that showed profitability on the level of say alcohol or tobacco. Too easy to “make it yourself”, comparatively (you’re right that there will be lots of spin-off business but probably mostly on the small and micro-business scale). Though industrial hemp, especially depending on the price of wood pulp and the cost of paper-making with same, has some interesting possibilities.

About Obama’s “No” response. Some think it a flippant dismissal. I think not. I have decided that Obama takes great pains to not unnecessarily set off the right wing nuts and the diversionary damage they cause to what he wants to accomplish. Simple as that. Not worth the price. He knows maryjane, been around it, toked it (inhaling is the point, isn’t it), knows all about it.
.
But for gods sake don’t set off a firestorm in the right wing. It’s not worth it. Leave them to worry over prayer in schools (Obama prays), “intelligent design”, support our troops (Obama supports the troops, his wife the families), stem cell research, flag lapel pins, hand over heart, on and on. He has too many right wing nut issues to deal with without getting into drugs.
.
Drug policy…it ain’t all about mj. More complicated than that alone. It’ll work out. Takes time. There was a time that people served life on one reefer. Now it’s a misdemeanor. Progress. Give it time and don’t lean on Obama to do it. He gots other matter to worry over.

I agree with formerlyjames. Obama’s “dismissive” answer wasn’t the important part of the Town Hall. I noticed that Obama inserted the question “out of order” before giving that answer; and, in doing so, (1) acknowledged the thousands of people who voted for it and (2) got the question on the table. He’s one smart cookie.
.
I’ve been advocating the “upper age limit” for pot for years, though I usually say 60. At the very least, it will liven up Bingo in the nursing home.

formerlyjames: I also believe that he’s making heroic efforts to not set off the wingnuts. The truth is that almost everything sets them off. They’ve punched their tickets for the crazy train and they won’t get off until it derails. I’m more exicted about the elections than I am about how close I am to retiring. I like several individual republicans, but I’m having the time of my life watching them implode. Sometimes I think I’d like to see us go even further to the left than I’d prefer just to watch them have a stroke. The oinly thing that would top it off would be if one of them would croak and leave me some money, which I’d promptly donate to MoveOn.org in their names.

This is one of two “politically unpopular” but nonetheless smart things that should ABSOLUTELY be on the table in light of our current financial crisis. As you point out, it would raise tax revenue, free up law enforcement resources and lower police/corrections expenditures, create an entire new industry (or, I suppose, legitimize an already existent one, but with added marketing, etc.), help farmers and agriculture, and, oh yeah, make our border with Mexico safer, since so much of the horrible violence there is due to the trade in marijuana, specifically.
.
The other “political third rail” that would help our economy? Normalizing relations with Cuba. It’s flat out absurd that we’re shutting out a HUGE market for all of our industry (including auto-makers) for the benefit of a dying minority of Cuban Americans in South Florida who are mad at losing their property to Castro in the 1950s. Between tourism, hotels, industrial machinery companies, cruise lines, construction, agriculture, oil and gas exploration….the benefits of normalizing relations with Cuba would be an IMMENSE positive impact to the economy.

The difficulty, possibly insurmountable for years to come, is what blocks rational action on so many issues: the political mileage to be gained by demonizing something or someone. We continue to drift toward second-class nationhood because a goodly number of pols habitually run down other Americans, trying to gain support by condemning “the other.” If it weren’t marijuana and its users it would be – and already is – some style of clothing and the people who adopt it.
.
The damnable message, stripped of its moralistic trappings and reduced to its essentials, is this: “You can feel better about yourself without having to actually be a better person – just join me in condemning these other people for doing something that doesn’t really affect you at all.”
.
It’s late in the afternoon, so I’ll stop now before I risk a Godwin’s Law situation. Anybody got any papers?

Formerlyjames, wingnuts are programmed to go off. That’s what they do. You can tell by what they go off about that the subject isn’t that important, they’re gonna go off regardless.
.
I think you make a sane and rational point. But we’re not talking about sane and rational people.
.
I said earlier, progress should be appreciated and we should be thankful that the life sentences you spoke of are history. But we don’t make any progress if we’re happy where we’re at.

somepeople, thank you. I agree with what you say. I disagree that we need to force the issue now. I worked in criminal “justice”, and the life I refer to is one on my caseload many years agp. It is a real person I remember who suffered for mindless application of the law that you despise. I hear you.

Your financials for cost avoidance for decriminalizing marijuana and using the weak argument that the money could be used elsewhere is really slieght of hand nonsense. In reality legalize marijuana, or any drug will go the way of alcohol, a legal drug has since it was legalized. Abuse will become worse. A healthcare system that already spends billions of dollars on alcohol abuse and illegal drug abuse will become more burden as legal abuse occurs. Driving under the influence arrests, coupled with increased accidents, injuries and deaths will increase. Crime statistics will not decrease, look up the impact alcohol has on our current crime rates. There is also the impact on families, work places, and society as a whole as mental health issues increase. Try visiting an emergency room mental health intake center some night and see how many visits are drug and alcohol related…this will certainly increase with legalization. Its quite simple. Look at the impact alcohol has had on our society financially and quality of life because that is what we will be faced with if we start legalizing other drugs.