POTOMAC TOKES AND T'OUGHTS

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 ha! ve 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 opp! osition 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.