Drug War

The Problem with Marijuana Legalization

by Laurence M. Vance August 16, 2022

Although the medical use of marijuana has been legalized in 37 states, its recreational use is legal only in 19 states. (South Dakota voters approved a recreational marijuana initiative in the 2020 election, but it was overturned by a state circuit judge and upheld by the state supreme court.) That is still a lot of states ...

The Effectiveness of Medical Marijuana Is Not the Issue

by Laurence M. Vance June 21, 2022

Earlier this year, Mississippi became the 37th state to legalize the medical use of marijuana, which is also legal in the U.S. territories of the District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Since California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996, every couple of years, another state or two ...

Biden’s Libertarian Feint

by Scott McPherson May 3, 2022

The White House used April 20 to reiterate President Biden’s alleged belief that marijuana users should not be in jail. The date is significant, because marijuana advocates celebrate that date as an informal pot holiday and refer to it as an ideal one on which to imbibe. Asked about the president's opinion, White House Press Secretary Jen Psake expanded ...

State Marijuana Bills Are a Far Cry from Marijuana Freedom

by Laurence M. Vance March 7, 2022

Although many states and territories have legalized the medical or recreational use of marijuana, the federal government still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) with “a high potential for abuse,” “no currently accepted medical use,” and “a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision.” The possession ...

Marijuana Legalization vs. Marijuana Freedom

by Laurence M. Vance December 14, 2021

There is a difference between marijuana legalization and marijuana freedom. Since 1996, 36 states have legalized the medical use of marijuana. Since 2012, 18 states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana. In addition, 27 states have decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The District of Columbia has done all three. The medical use of marijuana is legal in ...

The Case Against Drug Courts

by Laurence M. Vance November 2, 2021

A recent article in World magazine profiled Judge Michael Taylor and the Mississippi 14th Circuit’s drug court that he oversees. In “Sober-minded,” Kim Henderson makes the case that “drug courts can use a strict nexus between crime and punishment to offer addicts a chance to see the light.” Henderson informs us that “the nation’s first drug court convened in ...

Deserting the Drug War

by Matthew Harwood October 1, 2021

As you leaf through the first few pages of Dr. Carl L. Hart’s book Drug Use for Grownups, you come across a quote from the writer and social critic James Baldwin. It says: “If you want to get to the heart of the dope problem, legalize it.... a law, in operation, that can only be used against ...

Neither Necessary nor Proper

by Laurence M. Vance July 16, 2021

It was sixteen years ago last month that the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Gonzales v. Raich (2005), ruled that the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801) did not exceed the power of Congress under the Commerce Clause as applied to the intrastate cultivation and possession of marijuana for medical use. In this case, Angel ...

What Is Missing in the Arguments for Marijuana Legalization

by Laurence M. Vance June 14, 2021

The federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act with “a high potential for abuse,” “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States,” and “a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision.” The possession of even a small amount of marijuana can result in ...

The Real Gateway Drug

by Laurence M. Vance May 6, 2021

Although even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that marijuana is not a gateway drug, it is a standard claim of conservatives. In response to the question it raises, “Does marijuana use lead to other drug use?” the CDC says, The majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, “harder” ...

Taking the Good with the Bad

by Laurence M. Vance April 28, 2021

Marijuana freedom is a good thing. The taxation of marijuana is a bad thing. Unfortunately, owing to the greed of spendthrift politicians, it looks as though we will have to take the good with the bad or not at all. Now, this does not mean that smoking marijuana is “good.” It just means that the freedom to smoke marijuana — ...

The Continuing Disaster of the U.S. Drug War in Latin America

by Ted Galen Carpenter April 1, 2021

The following is a statement to the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission: Charting a New Path Forward, Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives, December 3, 2020: I wish to express my appreciation to the chairman and members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs for the opportunity to submit this statement. The Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission is ...