You’re a second-term president and your
health-care plan is imploding, your economic policies have come a
cropper, and your overseas adventures are anything but
sucessful.
Oh yeah, and you’ve seen your support among younger voters and
civil libertarians plummet in the wake of all sorts of revelations
about government snooping (which you signed off on).
But there is one thing that Barack Obama could do to salvage
what is shaping up to be the worst two-term presidency
since…George W. Bush’s:
Declare a swift and honorable peace in the decades-long war on
pot. The drug war in toto has been a long-running and
ineffective disaster that disrespects individual autonomy,
corrupts law enforcement, and undermines the rule of law. By ending
the war on pot, he would be remembered as a true visionary.It wouldn’t be hard. Focus on the issues of fairness and basic
common sense that already have fully 58 percent of
Americans in favor of legalization….If Obama announced that he was de-prioritizing the federal
government’s war on pot—not even on all drugs, but just
marijuana—he would almost certainly be joined by a growing number
of libertarian Republicans who think drug policy is a state-level
issue. Indeed, if Obama framed the issue explicitly in federalist
terms, he could likely count on the support of characters such as
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Rep. Justin Amash of
Michigan….If Obama really thinks pot is no more dangerous than alcohol and
that the war on pot systematically screws over minorities, why
should he have any hesitation in liberalizing the federal policies
over which he has control? And using the bully pulpit to push for
broader legislative change at the federal and state level? What is
he waiting for, a third term?
That’s from my latest column for The Daily Beast.
Read the whole thing.
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