Legalizing marijuana: The feds vs. California

Attorney General Eric Holder promised that even if state voters approved the referendum to legalize marijuana, he would enforce federal laws prohibiting recreational use of the drug.

Californians may be on the way to legalizing marijuana, said Adam Nagourney in The New York Times, but the state’s stoners may still have to fear The Man if they light up. Attorney General Eric Holder last week promised that even if state voters approved Proposition 19, a referendum to legalize marijuana, he would “vigorously” enforce federal laws prohibiting recreational use of the drug. Holder said that legal sales of weed would “significantly undermine” efforts to keep California communities safe, and his vow could “plunge the nation’s most populous state into a murky and unsettling conflict with the federal government.” Besides, why encourage more drug use? said the Santa Cruz, Calif., Sentinel in an editorial. “Do we want our kids to get the message that being stoned is okay, because the government says it’s okay?”

Before Californians start trembling with fear, said Jacob Sullum in Reason.com, they should know that Holder is bluffing. The federal government accounts for fewer than 1 percent of marijuana arrests in the U.S.; the Drug Enforcement Administration has only 5,500 special agents nationwide, compared with 70,000 local police officers in California. Obviously, the feds don’t have the resources or the political will to bust tens of thousands of average citizens growing weed in their backyard gardens. If Californians choose legalization, “good luck” to Holder in turning back the clock.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us