- Daniel J. Smith is the director of the Political Economy Research Institute at Middle Tennessee State University and an associate professor of economics in the Jones College of Business.
Is there a conservative case for decriminalizing pot? In a letter published in the Abilene Reporter News, Alexander W. Salter, an associate professor of economics at Texas Tech University, makes the argument that there is. He’s right.
Marijuana criminalization has been one of the worst big-government boondoggles of the past century. As he argues, it represents a threat to federalism, throws more money at our failed war on drugs and exacerbates inequalities in our criminal justice system.
While the U.S. House historically passed a bill decriminalizing marijuana, every single Republican representative in Tennessee voted against this commonsense reform. The Act didn’t even see daylight in the then-Republican-controlled Senate, despite two-thirds of Americans favoring legalization. These policymakers ought to reevaluate their positions.
How federalism should factor into drug policy
Even if they support criminalization of marijuana, there is little justification for marijuana being a federal issue. Conservatives, after all, are defenders of our federalist system. This entails preserving self-governance and local autonomy by vigorously protecting the right of states to make decisions that are not…
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- Daniel J. Smith is the director of the Political Economy Research Institute at Middle Tennessee State University and an associate professor of economics in the Jones College of Business.
Is there a conservative case for decriminalizing pot? In a letter published in the Abilene Reporter News, Alexander W. Salter, an associate professor of economics at Texas Tech University, makes the argument that there is. He’s right.
Marijuana criminalization has been one of the worst big-government boondoggles of the past century. As he argues, it represents a threat to federalism, throws more money at our failed war on drugs and exacerbates inequalities in our criminal justice system.
While the U.S. House historically passed a bill decriminalizing marijuana, every single Republican representative in Tennessee voted against this commonsense reform. The Act didn’t even see daylight in the then-Republican-controlled Senate, despite two-thirds of Americans favoring legalization. These policymakers ought to reevaluate their positions.
How federalism should factor into drug policy
Even if they support criminalization of marijuana, there is little justification for marijuana being a federal issue. Conservatives, after all, are defenders of our federalist system. This entails preserving self-governance and local autonomy by vigorously protecting the right of states to make decisions that are not…