The RPs Debate Legalizing Marijuana: The RP Defends

The RP‘s First Defense

[The RP’s Provocation; Jason Atkinson’s Rebuttal #1]

Jason Atkinson makes a powerful indictment of legalized medicinal marijuana from his unique vantage point as a legislator in a state (Oregon) that has gone this route.

I couldn’t agree more.  As I argued in my initial post, legalizing medical marijuana is a half-measure that while well-intention creates some enormous complications for law enforcement and extraordinary challenges for physicians.  That’s why in another state that has legalized medicinal marijuana, the California Medical Association has urged its legislature to move to full legalization.

This illustrates one of the key lessons I’ve learned from the sausage-making factory that is lawmaking.  The middle-of-the-road approach that might test best in the polls can often have unintended consequences that create a situation that is worse than the original status quo.  Jason vividly illustrates the consequences that Albert Camus spoke of when he said, “good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding.”

Where I disagree with Jason is in his conclusion that the problems associated with medicinal marijuana suggest that full legalization would fail as well.  Indeed, the horrible developments Jason outlines — “patients” gaming the system; medical cards being counterfeited; local law enforcement overwhelmed with violations; drug cartels moving in to handle the illegal traffic — all would be mitigated by full legalization.

If we implement a fully-legal, strictly-regulated domestic marijuana industry, we eliminate all of the crimes and frauds associated with trying to get around the proofs of medical need.  No system will be perfect, and we will never be able to eliminate illegal activity.  But the folks who fear legalization the most are the mobs and cartels who are getting rich as long as the drug remains legal.  That’s the most important lesson the country learned in the Prohibition Era.

Jason does raise one concern that gnaws at me — the notion that marijuana is a gateway drug, a slippery slope to the use of harder drugs which I strongly agree must remain illegal.  I’ve spoken to addicts too, and some suggest that the transition from pot to cocaine was made smoother by the fact that both were illegal — if I can handle one illegal drug, I can handle all.  Under that reasoning, if we legalize cannabis, the connection is eliminated.

I concede I could be wrong about the gateway issue, and I would love to see some scientific evidence on the issue.  But regardless, I still believe the equities fall in favor of legalizing the drug.