2009 will no doubt be remembered as the year that traditional media woke up to the folly of the drug war. The Postand Timeslast week all but called for legalization.
Post:
Stiff competition from thousands of mom-and-pop marijuana farmers in the United States threatens the bottom line for powerful Mexican drug organizations in a way that decades of arrests and seizures have not, according to law enforcement officials and pot growers in the United States and Mexico.
NY Times:
"I think what’s appropriate is for this to be completely out in the open," said Len Goodman, a patient who started NewMexicann, a nonprofit group seeking state approval to distribute marijuana. "As long as you follow the rules, you should be able to come out of the closet and function with no fear or shame."
More from the Times:
Dr. Alfredo Vigil, New Mexico’s secretary of health, said tight regulation of medical marijuana programs was crucial.
...
But with the federal prohibition in place, he said his state’s program was a risk. "It’s a tricky situation in many, many ways," he said. "As long as there’s a disconnect with the federal law, it’s guaranteed there will be problems along the way."
The Times piece was clearly more in the traditional vein, highlighting words like 'paranoid' and 'anxiety' and using a less objective headline. However, the conclusions to which the WaPo and Times articles lead the reader are unmistakable. There is an economic weapon to use against the drug cartel violence, and federal law hurts law-abiding medical patients and subverts compassionate State laws.
This news is, well, news. Add to those stories this Wall Street Journal editorialby Mary O'Grady on George Shultz, and you have yourself a traditional media trifecta.
In recent years, Mr. Shultz says, "There has come to be more and more of a realization of the nature of the problem. I thought it was interesting six or eight months ago, that three former presidents of Latin American countries, President Zedillo from Mexico, President Cardoso from Brazil and President Gaviria from Colombia made a report basically saying that we have to look at this problem in all of its dimensions if we are going to get anywhere with it. And we have to realize what its origins are."
I am thrilled to have traditional media covering this topic. Progress is being made, but they still resist language like 'tax and regulate' and, 'end prohibition'.
Please encourage your Representative to support H.R. 2943, the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2009, and support H.R. 2835, the Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act.