Sources

"There is a widespread feeling among many young people that we should not be aggressive in controlling marijuana. I sympathize with some of their concerns because, in a democracy, it's very difficult for the criminal justice system to control behavior that large numbers of otherwise law-abiding individuals believe they have a right to engage in. But these same people tend to be very aggressive about urging broad gun controls. I try to get them to think about this principle by characterizing guns as the 'marijuana of the right.' Both sides have to recognize the need to limit the scope of the criminal law….[L]arge numbers of otherwise law-abiding people believe they have a right to carry a gun, that they are not causing any harm with it, and they oppose gun bans. That is the parallel between older people's view of gun laws and young people's view of marijuana laws."

—Interview with Carnegie-Mellon criminologist Alfred Blumstein, The Drug Policy Letter, Summer 1996, published by The Drug Policy Foundation, 4455 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite B-500, Washington, DC 20008-2302, [phone], [e-mail]