LEGALIZE MARIJUANA? IT'S FINALLY SERIOUS

It seems sudden, though support for a more common-sense approach to
marijuana has been quietly building for years now, virtually unseen
by most politicians. But Gov. Schwarzenegger's comment on Tuesday
that "I think it's time for a debate" on the subject of legalizing,
regulating and taxing marijuana in California seems to have elevated
the topic to a much more serious level.

CNN just did a thoughtful and balanced piece on the subject, and the
New York Times ran a news article. In addition to the Field Poll
survey showing that 56 percent of Californians favor legalizing,
taxing and regulating marijuana similarly to alcohol, a nationwide
Zogby poll commissioned by the conservative-leaning O'Leary Report
found 52 percent of Americans nationwide favor something similar.
That's up from 46 percent in an ABC News/Washington Post poll.

Stephen Gutwillig, California director of the reformist Drug Policy
Alliance, told us that the contrast between now and January, when San
Francisco Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced a marijuana
legalization bill, has been remarkable. "In January, while some of
the coverage was serious, much of it had a joking tone," Mr.
Gutwillig said. "This time almost all of the coverage is serious,
suggesting that legalization has come close to being a mainstream issue."

Obviously many Americans are ready for more than a debate, although
that would be welcome. Given that the federal government estimates
that 15 million Americans smoked marijuana in any given month,
prohibition is obviously not working, and it channels money to
ruthless criminals rather than to honest businesspeople and the
government. A serious discussion of alternatives to prohibition is overdue.

Gov. Schwarzenegger would be well-advised to follow up his comment
with action. Mr. Gutwillig says his organization will be contacting
the governor's office to discuss the next steps; he should listen
carefully. Perhaps a panel of experts from California universities
could be assembled to study the experiences of other countries that
have liberalized drug laws or downgraded enforcement. Perhaps a
commission could hold hearings throughout the state, taking testimony
from people on all sides of the issue. Perhaps the Legislative
Analyst's Office could be directed to do a study that would analyze
the costs and benefits of legalization.

It is clear that legalizing marijuana would provide a certain amount
of relief in California's current budget crisis, eliminating about
half a billion in enforcement costs and bringing in tax revenues that
have been estimated at $1.3 billion. That alone makes such a reform
worth considering.