The Tea Party's weed problem
Tea Party activists disagree over plenty of issues, says Chris Good at The Atlantic, but the one most likely to divide them is the legalization of pot

"Tea Partiers don't agree on everything," says Chris Good at The Atlantic. In fact, this hodgepodge movement encompassing everything from libertarians to hard-core social conservatives disagrees about quite a lot. So far, though, one potential fissure has been overlooked — "legalization of marijuana." This issue has the potential to become divisive as the debate over decriminalizing pot gains steam, with several states voting on medical-marijuana ballot initiatives and Californians weighing outright legalization. Here, an excerpt:
Marijuana seems like as good an issue as any to bring [the Tea Party's ] ideological poles into conflict. Libertarians support looser drug laws as an expression of their most basic principle — less government involvement in private lives; social conservatives and traditionalists [meanwhile] react viscerally to drug legalization as a descent into societal depravity. In broad terms, libertarians and social conservatives couldn't see marijuana more differently. ...
On top of that, marijuana is becoming a states' rights issue. The Obama administration has enacted a policy of deference to state policies on medical marijuana, and if California's Prop. 19 passes in 2010, or if a similar measure passes in California or elsewhere in 2012, the subsequent Obama/Holder decision over what to do about it will inevitably call into question whether the federal government should (constitutionally, it certainly can) supersede the decision of state voters.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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.
Read the full article at The Atlantic.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Selfies ban in art galleries: a sign of the times?
Talking Point Priceless art has been damaged by visitors desperate to take a snap with star attractions, leading some galleries and museums to start fighting back
-
Quiz of The Week: 21 – 27 June
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: How do you turn plastics into paracetamol?
Podcast Plus, what is the Wagner Group doing now? And why is it so hard to find a job after university?