I've been in Washington, D.C. this semester and I could probably give some insight and perspective into what's going on down here. But really, I am so ridiculously tired of talking about Washington politics. So, I'm going to write about the legalization of weed. Where to begin? Oh man, I feel like so much is going on in the world of cannabis legalization that it's hard to catch you up. Rather, I would like to stress to you my confidence in a prediction that I made in the beginning of this school year. I had said that I thought cannabis will be legalized before 2010 is over. It seems clearer now than it ever did. Still skeptical? Well, read on.
Exhibit A — California: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has said that it is time to debate marijuana legalization. A bill to legalize the plant passed in its committee this year; unfortunately, the legislative session ended shortly after, and the slate was wiped clean. A 2009 Field Poll reports that 56 percent of Californians support legalization. There is an initiative to legalize on the ballot in 2010, a gubernatorial election year. If you can't put this all together and see electoral success, well, you need to stop hanging around with all those pessimists. They're bad news bears.
California, along with many states throughout the Union, is going through tough economic times. In this instance, "tough economic times" means that the state's treasury is broke with tens of billions of dollars in debt. It has been estimated that legalizing marijuana would produce $1.4 billion in tax revenue. While it may not save California, it will make the decline a little less painful. The icing on the cake is California's existing legal system of marijuana distribution. The medical marijuana industry in California is booming, and though it has its institutional flaws, it is not the disaster that many have predicted it would have been.
Exhibit B — the West Coast (as a region): Oregon and Washington also have initiatives on the 2010 ballots that would legalize cannabis. Though neither have officially qualified, their ultimate qualification seems inevitable. This of course means that there is a chance, however unlikely, that the entire West Coast could legalize. I may be visiting the "Left Side" for the first time this summer; I'll report my impressions from the ground when I return.
Exhibit C — the Obama administration: In 2004, President Barack Obama claimed that he was in favor of "decriminalizing" marijuana. His medical marijuana policies since taking office have been a major victory for states' rights advocates; though there have been a few rogue Drug Enforcement Administration raids, the situation is vastly superior to the Bush years. While the drug czar, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlipowske, claims that legalization is not in his or the president's vocabulary, he also refuses to say that the federal government will take action against any state that legalizes. I think the White House has too much to deal with to fight a battle over marijuana. Come on, the president inhaled frequently; that was, after all, the point. Say what you will about this administration, they aren't idiots. They understand that the current drug policy, especially that of marijuana, is unsustainable. These harsh drug laws have consequences for the individual (their loss of liberty) and society, which brings me to…
Exhibit D — the Mexican drug war: Since the Mexican military escalated action against the drug cartels in 2006, 19,603 people have been killed. That figure is more than the American casualties for Iraq, Afghanistan and Sept. 11 combined, and it's all happening just south of the border. The problem is so pervasive that a military victory is impossible. While the Mexican government fights a futile war, the United States government ignores its central role in the conflict. Or does it … "Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade … Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians … I feel very strongly we have a co−responsibility," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on March 26, 2009. OK, so the United States acknowledges it is at fault here. America has smeared egg on its own face … so when is it going to get around to wiping it off?
I must say that I am most convinced that the federal government will not intervene in the West Coast's legalization experiment because of the war in Mexico. Mexico has already shown its drug reform intentions by legalizing the possession of small amounts of all drugs in 2009. The Obama administration — Vice President Joe Biden notwithstanding — must be aware of how ridiculous the criminalization of cannabis is. They also understand the very real threat to national security posed by the endless Mexican conflict. If nothing else, Obama has proven to be non−ideological, relatively speaking. I am certain that he understands that cannabis legalization will happen eventually. Why not let California take the political heat and win some points with conservatives by playing up the state rights card?
I know it seems crazy. The United States of America is at a tipping point. We need to make some decisions about how we're going to deal with our problems. The War on Drugs is one of those problems. The legalization of cannabis could usher in a new day of more open and honest discussion of drug policy reform. The only way the Mexican drug war can be won is if all illegal drugs are taken out of criminal hands. Regardless, the legalization of cannabis would reap significant benefits almost immediately. No longer would the criminalization of marijuana be used as a tool of racial prejudice, such as the case of New York City's disproportionately black and Latino arrests for marijuana possession. No longer would it be used to take children away from their parents. Farmers would again tap into the rich resource that is the hemp plant. It's only a matter of time, but that doesn't mean we should just sit around and wait for it. People need to be vocal about their opposition to the current drug regime or nothing will change. If we're loud enough, by the end of this year, we will live in a much greener country.
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Greg Beach is a junior majoring in political science.
