Tuesday morning NPR broadcast this piece on how political attitudes regarding marijuana are changing:
“What I’m encouraged by is you’re starting to see not just liberal Democrats, but also some very conservative Republicans recognize this doesn’t make sense, including sort of the libertarian wing of the Republican Party,” the president said in an interview with VICE News.
During the wide-ranging interview, Obama noted that the American criminal justice system is “heavily skewed toward cracking down on nonviolent drug offenders” and has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color, while at the same time taking a huge financial toll on states. But, Obama added, Republicans are beginning to see that cost.
“So we may be able to make some progress on the decriminalization side,” Obama said. “At a certain point, if enough states end up decriminalizing, then Congress may then reschedule marijuana.”
In the meantime, Gallup‘s latest poll on the subject of marijuana indicates a small majority of 51% (+/- 4%) of Americans favor legalization – a retreat from last year’s 58%.
The continued drive towards personal freedom to consume a relatively harmless drug should have positive results for society, both collectively and individually – if we have our principles properly formulated. Of course, private prisons may not be happy at the thought of legalization, as noted earlier here.
Finally, here’s the lowdown on marijuana from the folks at DrugWarFacts.org.
