LAST TIME, I pointed out that proposition 19 will not really decriminalize marijuana in California, because federal law will stay the same.
But it's still a very good idea, for the following reasons:
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The reasoning behind the "war on drugs," including the war on marijuana, is the same reasoning as that behind prohibition.
It goes like this:-
X is a bad idea, for whatever reasons.
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Therefore, we should have less of X.
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Therefore, we should outlaw X.
The problem with this line of reasoning is that outlawing X, whether X is pot or alcohol or teenage sex, doesn't necessarily cut down on X.
What it does do is move X out of the reach of a great many other remedies, open the door to criminal trafficking in X, and put a burden on the police and the courts to handle problems that might be better handled elsewhere.
It's a misguided attempt to sweep the perceived problem under the rug instead of facing it openly and dealing with it.
If, indeed, there is a significant problem of marijuana abuse in our state, we will not overcome it by simply sending anyone remotely connected to jail.
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- One result of the reasoning above is that we're sending otherwise law-abiding citizens to jail for possession, or for growing pot for their own use.
This costs the taxpayers money, does nothing to address the real problem, and is patently unfair.
It's particularly unfair when you consider that the people who end up serving time are mostly poor or middle class.
If a user's family has enough money, they are unlikely to go to jail for possession, and they are hurt a lot less by the fine—if their rich enough, they may not even notice it.
This amounts to a penalty for being relatively poor, not for substance use—and in the current economy, more and more of us are relatively poor. - The criminalization of a substance that is widely used by otherwise upstanding citizens simply supplies income to criminals by giving them a monopoly on the market.
This is just near-sighted. - It also means that we are undermining our citizens' respect for the law, by creating a situation in which many people can only do something which they believe to be perfectly normal and moral by breaking the law.
Who benefits from the present state of affairs?
- The prison industry.
- The alcohol and tobacco industries.
- The wealthy, by virtue of being nearly immune to current possession laws that everyone else has to deal with.
Who is hurt?
- Normal citizens: particularly the poor.
- Our children, who are preyed upon by criminals who in turn get their funding, and their cover, from the fact that they are selling something ordinary citizens consider harmless and desirable.
If you want to stop sales to children, focus enforcement on stopping sales to children—stop wasting police time on adult users.
As I said above, Proposition 19 will not immediately change the situation, but it will:
- Send a message to Washington that one more state sees through the failed policy.
- Free up state resources to focus on criminal sales, including sales to kids, and other real crimes.
- Create a basis for further, intelligent, legislation on controlled substances in California.
- Help prepare us for the day when the federal war on drugs is reformed.
I give the current situation a "-3" on the liberty scale, and Prop. 19 a +3, for a net change of "+6".
Vote "Yes".
At least, that's what I think today.
