A newly reported on March of 1973 recording of a private conversation of then President Richard Nixon with some of his executive branch aides includes Nixon commenting that marijuana is “not particularly dangerous.” He also stated that penalties related to marijuana should be evaluated to make sure they are not too harsh. Nixon, as an example, described as “wrong” a Texas 10 year prison term for a marijuana offence.
This private analysis is in sharp contrast to the language Nixon used about two years earlier in announcing the start of the United States government’s war on drugs. On June 17, 1971, Nixon presented his speech announcing the war on drugs. In the speech, Nixon declared that drug abuse was “America’s public enemy number one” and that “it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive” to “fight and defeat this enemy.” Over fifty years later this war on drugs continues despite its enormous cost in government spending, violated rights, and harm to drug users.
Regarding marijuana in particular, state and local governments have increasingly withdrawn from the prohibition effort. Though the US government has since the 1990s backed off substantially in marijuana prohibition enforcement where such conflicts with state law liberalization, the war on marijuana continues on the national level.
Nixon, in the audio recording, suggested that because of political considerations he would refrain from supporting marijuana legalization that he commented “most the kids are for.” (“Kids” here is likely largely a category by which he meant young adults.) Legalization, said Nixon, would send “the wrong signal at this time.”
Playing politics has continued to prevent the US government from legalizing marijuana over the ensuing decades, even as state and local governments have kept ending prohibitionary policies and the American people have increasingly backed legalization. When Democrats recently held the majority in the US House of Representatives for four years, Democratic House leaders put their effort into pushing the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act. Instead of legislation to simply end the US government’s marijuana prohibition, the MORE Act combined legalization with race-based provisions and subsidies for marijuana businesses. These added measures in the bill allowed the Democratic leadership to make political points but also cut off the possibility of achieving legalization. As did Nixon, the Democratic leadership put other concerns above doing the right thing in regard to marijuana.
In comparison, the Republican House leadership before and after the Democrats’ majority just neglected bringing forward any marijuana legalization legislation. Interestingly, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has argued that the Republicans may have kept the majority in the 2018 election had they instead passed a straightforward legalization bill. Over the last ten years a steadily increasing and now overwhelming majority of Americans has wanted the US government to end its war on marijuana, but, no matter which party controls Congress or the presidency, it just hasn’t happened.
Will congressional leaders soon allow votes in the House and Senate on simply ending the US government’s marijuana prohibition? When Ron Paul was cosponsoring this sort of marijuana legalization legislation in the House over a decade back, he would comment on occasion that he thought legalization would pass if House members could vote by secret ballot on the issue. Political concerns were an impediment to many House members being willing to publicly vote their consciences on the matter. Since then, much has changed, including in the further easing of state and local laws and the large increase in public support for legalization. Now, the votes for passage by well beyond a majority would likely materialize even with a roll call vote — if leadership will let such a marijuana legalization vote happen. But, there is little sign that leadership in the House or Senate would soon let that vote occur. As in 1973, political concerns appear to be standing in the way of ending the US government’s marijuana prohibition.
