Please consider a law to do the following within the first 100 days
-Legalizes recreational Marijuana but outlaws synthetic Marijuana. Too many people have been incarcerated over Marijuana and synthetic Marijuana is legal but MUCH more detrimental to people.
-Mandates immediate release from prison and expungement of records for those with incarcerated and/or with criminal records strictly related to Marijuana possession and/or distribution. (this should not include any other drug offense)
-Mandates a review of those incarcerated strictly related to other drug possession only to determine if they qualify for an intensive drug rehab program instead of continued prison time.
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you would be hard pressed to find someone in prison for marijuana for personal use
I think marijuana should be restricted at least as much as tobacco or alcohol. While legalizing it for adults, we should recognize that it is particularly risky for young people whose brains are still developing, up to about age 24. Age 21 seems to strike a reasonable balance.
Cannabis is a lot stronger than those 1980s studies that found “no harm,” and those studies did not include minors. Cannabis is stronger:
Cannabis use by young people is associated with schizophrenia:
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1920325116
Cannabis use by young people is associated with psychosis:
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Let’s make America healthy again. Do not encourage substances of any sort. Many states that have legalized it now have streets lined with regrets. Nearly every Democratic-run city has been trashed. Let’s keep our citizens in their right mind to the best of our ability.
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I am a libertarian Republican. When CO voted to legalize Marijuana, I was all for it. My logic was “actions that violate the rights of others should be illegal… not possession of inanimate objects” Making possession of marijuana (or any other “object”) illegal simply creates a black market for said item. HOWEVER, I then witnessed the societal damage that occurred in CO shortly after marijuana was legalized. How would you propose legalizing marijuana while avoiding the societal damage caused by marijuana legalization?
Another point is that, despite what the “experts” say, I’ve witnessed first hand marijuana addiction. It’s real. Libertarians respect freedom of choice. However, anyone with an addiction (whether it be chemical or psychological - such as gambling) is incapable of making rational decisions… and therefore, lacks the ability to exercise responsible freedom of choice. I would be interested in reading any ideas on how to accomplish legalization of marijuana while avoiding societal damage (e.g., theft, auto accidents due to driving while impaired),
Also See: Marijuana and the developing brain
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But if I am not mistaken it was the legalization of other drugs that caused the trashing. Marijuana use is almost as common as alcohol use. It we could legalize it, tax it and regulate it as M suggests it would help reduce arrests especially for minority communities without having a significant negative impact on society. The synthetic marijuana people are using now is very dangerous. We see people all the time in health care who have suffered harm due to synthetic marijuana which is legal and are only using it because natural marijuana, which does not have near the negative impact, is not legal.
I was also told that “Marijuana use is almost as common as alcohol use.” and “If we could legalize it, tax it and regulate it would help reduce arrests especially for minority communities without having a significant negative impact on society.”
That turned out to be a myth. Just take a trip to downtown Denver or Seattle to see how much damage has happened to those communities since marijuana was legalized there. It’s an extremely serious problem.
Speaking as a libertarian I’m not entirely opposed to legalizing marijuana. My concern is whether it is possible to legalize it without incurring the damage on society that has happened in those states / cities that have. If it is possible, I’d like to know “how” this could be accomplished… and whether it has ever been accomplished (in practice).