Jim Webb: Pot Legalization Could Be Part Of Overhaul
Saturday, March 28th, 2009 at 12:44 pm | By: Justice
Jim Webb: Pot Legalization Could Be Part Of Criminal Justice Overhaul
I’m glad Jim Webb didn’t get picked for the VP job last summer, because we need him right where he is.
On Thursday, Webb, along with the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), introduced a bill to create a commission that would undertake an 18-month study of the criminal justice system and come back with legislative recommendations.
“I think everything should be on the table, and we specifically say that we want recommendations on how to deal with drug policy in our country. And we’ll get it to the people who have the credibility and the expertise and see what they come up with,” said Webb.
What about legalizing, taxing and regulating marijuana?
Webb paused. “I think they should do a very careful examination of all aspects of drug policy. I’ve done a couple of very extensive hearings on this, so we’ll wait to see what they say about that,” he said.
We know what the commission will say about legalizing marijuana. The Shafer Commission recommended decriminalization in 1972, and that’s without the tons of new science on marijuana and it’s health effects. It will be no different this time.
Webb isn’t dismissing our failed war on drugs with some smirk and a chuckle, he knows the score and brought some Congressional Charts to prove his point. He recognizes that our drug laws have been implemented in a racist manner, and that most incarcerated for drug charges are non-violent. In a word, Webb “gets it”.
He expects a “pretty broad range of legislative priorities to come out of it [covering] not just incarceration but the entire panorama of criminal justice.”
“We’ve got a good chance to get this (the commission legislation) done this year,” said Webb, suggesting that the “dramatic” growth of the prison population makes it an issue that needs to be addressed. Webb cited “the exponential growth of incarceration since 1980,” saying that “a huge percentage of that growth has been nonviolent crimes associated with drugs.”
The Webb Sentencing commission might be the best venue for decriminalizing marijuana we have in the next few years. Given the 18 month lag, It’s suggestions would be taken up probably in the 2011 session of congress making the 2010 congressional cycle one of legalizations most important.
Sadly, I think you’re way off-base. We just DON’T what the commission will say about legalizing marijuana. Yes, there was a commission in 1972 that came to legalization conclusions. And, perhaps more surprisingly, it seemed that the head of that commission came to that conclusion after starting with an anti-legalization bent, then considering the facts, and reconsidering his conclusions.
1) Most of the time, people don’t come to issues with an open mind. If it’s an issue of some importance that they’ve already thought about, they assume they already know the correct answer. Then, they collect evidence that confirms their reasoning and discount evidence that points in the other direction. See here.
2) Personnel is policy. In general, when it comes to people with a record in public affairs, you can already tell what they’re going to say before they “study” an issue. The guy from ONDCP isn’t going to look at all the evidence on cannabis and then decide it’s time to narrow our Drug War. Neither is the guy from the private, for-profit rehab clinic. Cui bono? Who benefits? Alternately, whose ox is getting gored?
There are the rare exceptions of people who approach issues with a genuinely open mind and commitment to following the facts wherever they lead. Those people are likely to piss off people from both sides. Thus they are often particularly UN-influential.
3) A lot of these questions are irreducibly value-laden. There’s no “scientific” or “objective” answer. Some people value the right of people to pursue their own good in their own way (we call it “liberty”) and other people value order, authority, commitment to “unintoxicated” view of reality, whatever.
If we really want to win, we need to localize this fight. I’m not sure we can win a majority of people in the lower 48 states. And Congressmen are famously slow to awaken to changes that reduce their power. But I bet we can win a sensible policy in Mendocino County or Boston, MA or Ann Arbor, MI or maybe even a whole state like Hawaii or Alaska.
De-federalization = Victory.
The struggle to reverse marijuana policy needs to be fought on every level of government. Many on the local and state level are intimidated by the very real threats from the federal government. If we are going to see the end of prohibition, it must occur at the federal level. The federal government feels pressure from medical marijuana states, and the more states that ratify medical marijuana bring more congressmen and senators that have a vested interest in protecting their state and it’s constituents. So, it’s not a zero-sum game to pressure the federal government while more and more states normalize marijuana, these are complementary efforts.
I think that Jim Webb’s commission is different in several ways that give me optimism. The primary focus is to reduce the number of prisoners in federal care, due to the explosion of the cost of incarceration. Additionally, the bill gives the commission the express power to re-examine the drug laws. This is the primary tool the commission will use to achieve it’s goal. So decriminalization is on the table from the start. The makeup of the commission is bi-partisan with the 11 seats divided up as follows..
President picks the chair.
House Majority Leader gets 2 members
House Minority Leader gets 2 members
Senate Majority Leader gets 2 members
Senate Minority Leaser gets 2 members
Democratic Governors Association 1 member
Republican Governors Association 1 member
So the commissions recommendations will be more difficult to ignore and congress has a budgetary reason to ensure that legislation passes. Yes, I expect LEO’s and ONDCP types on the panel, but I also expect balance to be appointed by Pelosi and Reid. Change to drug policy will be suggested, simply because you can’t cut prison population without it. During the 18 months that the commission is charges, we will most likely see a few more states pass decrim (NY) and medical marijuana laws. This will further pressure the commission to put federal laws in line with states laws.
I don’t share your belief that the road to legalization runs through Mendocino (who actually voted to reign in their possession laws with Measure G), or Alaska which has already decrimmed up to 4oz. or 25 plants. I believe that the road to an enlightened policy is through state legislatures AND the congress.
In short, I guess we must agree to disagree.
What the hell is all this shit about possible Decriminalization. WTF Guys!! It’s Go time on Legalization this topic is on fire. We can not slow down or surrender to that Friggin Decriminalization crap. The Blood is spilling now in Mexico as we speak. And the media is starting to catch on to Common sense as well as our senators. We cant let it cool down not for one millisecond. Keep writing your congress rep and ask the MSM you want more herb NEWS. I believe when we hit 51% In favor then we can all toke up and let the government figure out the rest of that regulation shit later. Peace