Why has drug legalization been such a dead letter politically?
Nobody wants to go on record as being for drugs. There’s just something about, you know, “I am running for office and I support the legalization of PCP” that does not register well with voters. Voters with little historical, economic, or political insight into the drug problem are not likely to cast ballots for someone who wants to change the status quo. Reason: How would a Kerry administration drug policy differ from Bush’s, if at all? Well, last year, Kerry said that he would stop the federal drug raids on medical marijuana patients. That would be nice. It’s about time state attorneys general got some stones anyway and threw down the gauntlet to the feds on that. Some federal cooperation in stopping the harassment would be helpful. But I don’t think it would be a major switch. If there’s anything that’s been consistent among administrations—with the anomaly, maybe, of Carter—it’s that drug prohibition is popular and well received. Kerry has already indicated support for administrativ
