A big story of the media day is The New York Times taking a big, firm stand in favor of legalizing marijuana, calling for a repeal of federal anti-pot laws.
In the first of a string of editorials to be published this week, the Times pushes for the repeal and for state-by-state oversight, declaring in part:
It took 13 years for the United States to come to its senses
and end Prohibition, 13 years in which people kept drinking, otherwise
law-abiding citizens became criminals and crime syndicates arose and
flourished. It has been more than 40 years since Congress passed the
current ban on marijuana, inflicting great harm on society just to
prohibit a substance far less dangerous than alcohol.
The federal government should repeal the ban on marijuana.
We reached that conclusion after a great deal of discussion
among the members of The Times’s Editorial Board, inspired by a rapidly
growing movement among the states to reform marijuana laws.
There are no perfect answers to people’s legitimate concerns
about marijuana use. But neither are there such answers about tobacco
or alcohol, and we believe that on every level — health effects, the
impact on society and law-and-order issues — the balance falls squarely
on the side of national legalization. That will put decisions on whether
to allow recreational or medicinal production and use where it belongs —
at the state level.
Read the rest HERE.
