Jacob Sullum on How Not to Legalize Pot
Tomorrow voters in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, D.C., will decide whether to legalize marijuana. If they look for guidance to the two states that took that step in 2012, says Jacob Sullum, they will see a situation in Colorado that falls far short of the cannabis catastrophe predicted by prohibitionists. The legal industry is thriving, although it has not entirely displaced the black market yet, and marijuana-related problems are minimal so far, although controversy swirls around issues such as regulation of edibles and restrictions on consumption. If voters contemplating legalization turn their attention to Washington, Sullum says, there are lessons to be learned there too, but they mostly concern what not to do.