New York Times: End Federal Marijuana Prohibition

The United States is close to legalizing marijuana. Two states already have, a couple more are looking to do the same this fall and as of yesterday the most influential newspaper in our country now demands it.

“It took 13 years for the United States to come to its senses and end Prohibition, 13 years in which people kept drinking, otherwise law-abiding citizens became criminals and crime syndicates arose and flourished. It has been more than 40 years since Congress passed the current ban on marijuana, inflicting great harm on society just to prohibit a substance far less dangerous than alcohol.

The federal government should repeal the ban on marijuana.”

The Times’ Editorial Board wondered whether to maintain federal pot prohibition while allowing the states to experiment with legalization, but decided that was not the best option.

“We considered whether it would be best for Washington to hold back while the states continued experimenting with legalizing medicinal uses of marijuana, reducing penalties, or even simply legalizing all use. Nearly three-quarters of the states have done one of these,” the Times said. “But that would leave their citizens vulnerable to the whims of whoever happens to be in the White House and chooses to enforce or not enforce the federal law.”

The social consequences of marijuana prohibition are “vast” and its result is “racist, falling disproportionately on young black men, ruining their lives and creating new generations of career criminals,” the Times said.

Meanwhile, “the evidence is overwhelming that addiction and dependence are relatively minor problems, especially compared with alcohol and tobacco. Moderate use of marijuana does not appear to pose a risk for otherwise healthy adults. Claims that marijuana is a gateway to more dangerous drugs are as fanciful as the ‘Reefer Madness’ images of murder, rape and suicide.”

Coming up with systems to regulate marijuana sales, production, and distribution is a “complex” task, “but those problems are solvable, and would have long been dealt with had we as a nation not clung to the decision to make marijuana production and use a federal crime,” the Times said.

Bottom line? “We recognize that this Congress is as unlikely to take action on marijuana as it has been on other big issues. But it is long past time to repeal this version of Prohibition.”

When the NY Times calls for an end to MARIJUANA PROHIBITION, YOU KNOW…THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN’

Stoner Stuff