On marijuana, politicians are catching up with public opinion, and the federal government is catching up with the states. Fifteen states plus the District of Columbia have made recreational use legal. Most states have made it legal for medical (and “medical”) reasons. Polls show majority support for that policy.
Now the U.S. House has voted, for the first time, to end the federal prohibition, decriminalizing the drug and vacating nonviolent marijuana-related convictions.
But the cause has not yet triumphed. Most Republicans still favor prohibition, and so does President-elect Joe Biden. The bill won’t pass the Senate or become law.
In an ideal world, each side of this debate would rethink its position in light of what the other side gets right. What the pro-pot legislators understand is that federal prohibition is unsustainable.
But Biden and the Republicans have reasonable worries about the risks of applying a laissez-faire approach to marijuana.
Government bans on any product ask law enforcement to come between willing buyers and willing sellers. This always has the potential to result in unjustly selective enforcement and to breed disrespect for the law.
Now federalism is making enforcement even less tenable.
The federal government has always relied on states and localities to do the heavy lifting of enforcing bans on illicit drugs.
It has…
