Author: Joe Siegal
Following a first term in which President Obama’s policies reinforced the status quo in the United States’ “war on drugs,” American voters on Nov. 6 brought the drug war back to the political forefront. In the aftermath of the marijuana legalization measures passed in Colorado and Washington, Obama faces potential disputes between state and federal law that could significantly reshape the future of the country’s criminal justice and drug policy systems.
In July, GQ Magazine reported that the drug war would be a major focus of a second Obama term, hinting that Obama would begin reforming America’s costly anti-drug efforts. Anti-narcotics law enforcement, according to the New York Times, costs up to $25 billion annually, to the total of over $1 trillion over the course of the decades-long history of the drug war. If Obama has any intention to approach the drug war during his second term, he now has his opportunity. The President can even cite states’ rights as the basis for a more relaxed federal drug policy, which would lead to reform of law enforcement.
States are often referred to as the “laboratories of democracy,” and Obama would be best served to use Colorado and Washington as such. Since marijuana is still classified as a federally illegal substance, the legalization of marijuana for recreational use in Colorado and Washington has presented the President with a situation in which he will have to balance states’ rights with federal law. Obama can choose to crack down on Colorado and Washington from the federal enforcement perspective, just as he did with the widespread federal shutdowns of California medical marijuana dispensaries in the last year, or he can can take a step back and let these states stand as case studies for fully legalized marijuana. In this case, a hands-off approach when dealing with Colorado and Washington’s new laws would allow Obama an opportunity to observe the results of marijuana legalization and react from the federal level, if needed.
Obama spoke about the value of letting states determine their drug policy in his first term, but with different political issues. When he made his landmark declaration supporting same-sex marriage in May, Obama cited the ability of states to determine their own laws. Since Obama is clearly comfortable with allowing states to determine their own laws relating to gay marriage, he has already set a precedent for how to possibly manage Colorado and Washington’s new similarly controversial piece of legislation.
The ability to legally use marijuana is quite a different matter than the right to marriage equality, since it has a significant and tangible impact when it comes to criminal justice. America currently has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, with 730 out of every 100,000 citizens in prison. 1.6 million are arrested each year for drug related offenses. According to Human Rights Watch, for every year between 1999 and 2007, over 80 percent of drug-related arrests were for possession, with every other possession charge being for marijuana. The obvious truth is that marijuana prohibition puts Americans in prison, clogs the legal system and prisons and focuses law enforcement on the wrong societal problems. Lessening or removing criminal penalties against drug users, as Colorado and Washington have done, and perhaps focusing nationwide on reforming abusers rather than punishing them, would decrease the drug war’s negative impact.
To reach the point where sweeping reform can be discussed though, President Obama must proceed, at least for the moment, with a laissez-faire attitude towards state-specific marijuana legalization efforts. Reform of the drug war cannot come instantaneously, but Obama can take the first steps towards a more logical set of policies if he so chooses.
Joe Siegal is an undeclared sophomore. He can be reached at siegal@oxy.edu.
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