THE CANNABIS COLUMN - #8

Jon Gettman is a long time contributor to HIGH TIMES. A former National Director of NORML, Jon has a Ph.D. in public policy and regional economic development and consults with attorneys, advocates, and non-profits on cannabis related research and public policy issues. On October 8, 2002, along with a coalition of organizations, he filed a new petition to have cannabis rescheduled under federal law. This column will track that petition's progress.

May 15, 2003

Rescheduling, American values, and cannabis reform

Rescheduling under federal law will expedite creation of a regulated production and distribution system for the medical use of cannabis, in which a doctor's prescription would be required for purchase. It also provides a path to wider cannabis reform that is compatible with the political values of a majority of the American public. Once medical availability to cannabis is well-established and sufficiently studied, further decontrol of cannabis would be possible under existing laws.

According to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), marijuana users, defined as anyone who has used cannabis in the last year, only make up 7.7% of the adult population. While the number of annual users has risen slightly from about 18 to about 20 million for the past decade, political support for reform must come from other parts of society.

The Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics summarizes a wide variety of public opinion data on criminal justice issues. It is the source for the public opinion data below. Overall only 34% of the public are in favor of marijuana's legalization. Public opinion is fairly evenly divided on drug policy. When asked about the War on Drugs 47% believe we are making some or much progress, but on the other hand 47% also agree with the statement that too many people are in jail for drug possession. These figures portray the same political gridlock represented in the 2000 election returns.

When asked if they agreed with criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana 55% of women, 62% of rural residents, and 55% of Republicans agreed. In other words, support for cannabis reform is weakest among these three demographic segments. There were nearly 3.6 million marijuana users under the age of 18 in 2001, about 17% of all annual users. Many social conservatives believe continuing prohibition is the best way to keep the number of underage users from increasing.

Not all of the 55% of women supporting prohibition are socially conservative Republicans. Among all Democrats, 48% still support criminal penalties for possession of small amounts. Cannabis reformers have apparently failed to make their case to the pro-choice movement. For example, among college freshman 55% support legalized abortion but only 36.5% support marijuana's legalization.

There are some interesting bright spots on the demographic horizon. Opposition to criminal penalties for small amounts of marijuana is the greatest in the West, where only 40% are in support. Nearly 61% of High School seniors oppose criminal penalties on private marijuana use. Support for decriminalization is highest among people with college degrees (61%), those making $75,000 a year or more (62%), and both suburbanites and political independents (56% each).

The bottom line is that while 51% of Americans support decriminalization, 49% steadfastly oppose it. Decriminalization, though, is a state and local issue. Mobilizing public support for reform at the national level is a bit more complicated. It helps to have a straight-forward series of objectives. The objectives of rescheduling are to use this administrative process to a) clarify scientific knowledge about cannabis and b) provide for restricted medical access. Medical availability will also provide opportunities for further reform, but in a deliberate, scientific, and legally determined manner.

There are several ways to build sufficient public support for cannabis reform including building support among natural allies as well as responding to the concerns of opponents. Earning greater support from the pro-choice movement is an example of the first strategy. The second strategy could be pursued by rescheduling, where concern over the availability of marijuana to teens can be addressed by demonstrating the effectiveness of medical regulation. Further reform and decontrol could find wider support after sufficient study of a regulated medical market is available for public consideration. After a sufficient period of medical regulation, it may even be possible to consider over-the-counter status for cannabis. Both may be necessary to build sufficient public support for wider reform at the national level.

Public support for medical access to cannabis is widely recognized, over all 73% of the public believe that a doctor should be able to prescribe cannabis for medical use. This support is consistent across every demographic category, including 70% of women, 66% of rural residents, and 67% of Republicans.

Rescheduling cannabis to provide for medical access is something a clear majority of Americans support. It can also create points of agreement with opponents of decriminalizing personal use amounts of cannabis that will provide opportunities to build the trust and confidence required for further reform. It's slow, cautious, conservative, professional, and not very radical. Most importantly, rescheduling involves a process with clearly established standards and procedures that allow an administration to justify rescheduling cannabis with scientific and legal precedent. This provides the basis for a clear distinction between potential challengers and an incumbent administration and an opportunity to distinguish those candidates who recognize the scientific, legal, and political case in favor of medical access to cannabis from those who do not.