Pubdate: Tue, 22 Jan 2013
Source: Badger Herald (U of WI, Madison, WI Edu)
Copyright: 2013 Badger Herald
Contact: http://badgerherald.com/contact/
Website: http://www.badgerherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/711
Author: Aaron Loudenslager
Note: Aaron Loudenslager is a first year law student.

LEGALIZATION COULD BOOST STATE ECONOMY

It should be self-evident that the $1 trillion war on drugs has 
failed to accomplish its goals.

Although the creators and enforcers of American drug policy may have 
had good intentions, the consequences of this policy have not been so 
good. It is past time that the U.S. government reforms its federal 
drug policies. Furthermore, considering the recent legalization of 
recreational marijuana in Colorado and Washington, Wisconsin should 
join the movement of individual states legalizing recreational marijuana use.

In its pursuit of marijuana prohibition, it would behoove the federal 
government to be consistent in its own logic and actions in order to 
convince the American public that this goal is worthwhile.

Marijuana is prohibited under federal law and is classified as a 
Schedule I drug because according to the Controlled Substances Act, 
it has "no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United 
States." The federal government has had plenty of chances to 
reschedule marijuana into a different classification - given that 18 
states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana 
since 1996, it seems there is not much truth to the declaration that 
marijuana has "no currently accepted medical use ... in the United 
States." Even more illustrative of the contradictions in the logic 
and actions of the federal government's marijuana policy is the fact 
that the U.S. government allowed cannabinoids-a chemical component in 
marijuana-to be patented as "antioxidants and neuroprotectants."

The U.S. government can't just declare one minute that marijuana has 
no medical use and then allow chemicals in marijuana to be patented 
for medicinal purposes at the same time; either it has medical use or 
it doesn't.

Not only has the federal government been inconsistent in its own 
official reasons for prohibiting marijuana, it has been wrong in its 
general assumption that prohibiting drugs will stop drug use and 
production. As the Global Commission on Drug Policy reported in 2011, 
"The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences 
for individuals and societies around the world." On the supply side 
of illicit drugs, federal prohibition doesn't work because, as 
conservative economist Milton Friedman once wrote, "Illegality 
creates obscene profits that finance the murderous tactics of the 
drug lords; illegality leads to the corruption of law enforcement 
officials; illegality monopolizes the efforts of honest law forces so 
that they are starved for resources to fight the simpler crimes of 
robbery, theft and assault."

Friedman is correct; making drugs illegal simply makes them more 
valuable for criminal enterprises to sell and distribute. This 
creates a perverse incentive for illicit drugs to be made more widely 
available, instead of achieving the intended goal of eradicating 
drugs. In addition, federal prohibition doesn't necessarily reduce 
the demand for drugs.

Since Portugal decriminalized drugs in 2001, illegal drug use has 
actually declined among teens and according to Glenn Greenwald from 
the Cato Institute "[Portugal's drug policy] has enabled the 
Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far 
better than virtually every other Western country does."

The citizens of Colorado and Washington recently legalized the 
recreational use of marijuana - thus rejecting the failed drug war - 
with full knowledge that doing so would be in direct conflict with 
federal law. Yet President Obama has said prosecution of these 
recreational users is not a top priority.

This may be because Obama knows that marijuana will be fully legal 
throughout the U.S. in the future and does not want to be on the 
wrong side of history. Regardless, Gov. Scott Walker should be 
pushing the Wisconsin state legislature to legalize recreational 
marijuana use. He should go a step further than the medical marijuana 
proposals introduced by Rep. Mark Pocan which are being taken up by 
Rep. Chris Taylor in the upcoming legislative session.

During Walker's tenure thus far, his main theme has consistently been 
about improving the Wisconsin economy and creating jobs. If Walker 
truly wants to improve the Wisconsin economy, then all proposals 
should be on the table.

Legalizing recreational marijuana use in Wisconsin would save 
taxpayers money spent on law enforcement, prisons, judges, and 
lawyers and would also bring in new revenues through taxing marijuana sales.

According to a report by economist Jeffery Miron, the U.S. would save 
$7.7 billion in law enforcement costs annually from legalizing 
marijuana, with $5.3 billion of that savings going to state and local 
governments. According to the same report, the U.S. would bring in 
new revenues of $6.2 billion annually if legalized marijuana were 
taxed at rates similar to that of alcohol and cigarettes.

It is self-evident that the U.S. drug war has failed.

It is only a matter of time before politicians decide to end it and 
create viable drug policies like those initiated in Portugal. In the 
meantime, Gov. Walker and our state legislature should legalize 
recreational marijuana use and tax its sale to improve the Wisconsin economy.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom