2 thoughts on “Policy Brief Options Legalize Marijuana”
Although the problem of marijuana currently being illegal is not a matter of emergency, it is certainly one that over time has caused a crisis of incarceration. I really like how the authors of this used international comparisons to point this out, citing our values of freedom against the realities of our incarceration rates.
I liked many of the options provided by the authors. Keeping marijuana similar to alcohol answers many questions of opponents – if it applies to alcohol, why not marijuana? The only issue or solution I think the authors could have touched on would be the full legalization, or least decriminalization of all drugs. I think either accepting it as a viable solution, or perhaps countering as to why only marijuana should be legalized and not other drugs. Mentioning Portugal and their current decriminalization of all drugs would have made for an interesting comparison.
That being said, I think the best option would be the one mentioned in the brief – that to make marijuana similar to alcohol and implement it nationally in a way similar to Colorado. It seems the most politically feasible (especially in reference to the tax revenue boom that CO has experienced), and the most beneficial to incarceration rates.
Great work! You have clearly mapped out many of the harms of our current marijuana policy in NY. I think your brief could be strengthened by explaining more of the current harms of incarceration, not just arrests. How many people who are incarcerated for petty possession? It is also my understanding that displaying marijuana is still illegal, so if someone is stop-and-frisked and asked to empty their pockets, if the person took out marijuana from their pockets, this could be considered public display and is illegal. http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/05/24/2057481/analysis-nypd-stop-and-frisks-lead-to-more-marijuana-arrests-than-anything-else/ Explaining this may help the reader understand these intricacies.
I think your options could be strengthened by presenting clear different options – for example, legalizing recreational marijuana vs. legalizing medical marijuana.
Although the problem of marijuana currently being illegal is not a matter of emergency, it is certainly one that over time has caused a crisis of incarceration. I really like how the authors of this used international comparisons to point this out, citing our values of freedom against the realities of our incarceration rates.
I liked many of the options provided by the authors. Keeping marijuana similar to alcohol answers many questions of opponents – if it applies to alcohol, why not marijuana? The only issue or solution I think the authors could have touched on would be the full legalization, or least decriminalization of all drugs. I think either accepting it as a viable solution, or perhaps countering as to why only marijuana should be legalized and not other drugs. Mentioning Portugal and their current decriminalization of all drugs would have made for an interesting comparison.
That being said, I think the best option would be the one mentioned in the brief – that to make marijuana similar to alcohol and implement it nationally in a way similar to Colorado. It seems the most politically feasible (especially in reference to the tax revenue boom that CO has experienced), and the most beneficial to incarceration rates.
Great work! You have clearly mapped out many of the harms of our current marijuana policy in NY. I think your brief could be strengthened by explaining more of the current harms of incarceration, not just arrests. How many people who are incarcerated for petty possession? It is also my understanding that displaying marijuana is still illegal, so if someone is stop-and-frisked and asked to empty their pockets, if the person took out marijuana from their pockets, this could be considered public display and is illegal. http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/05/24/2057481/analysis-nypd-stop-and-frisks-lead-to-more-marijuana-arrests-than-anything-else/ Explaining this may help the reader understand these intricacies.
I think your options could be strengthened by presenting clear different options – for example, legalizing recreational marijuana vs. legalizing medical marijuana.