If Cannabis Is Legalized, Should All Drugs Be?

Matter of Opinion

New York Times Opinion

Society & Culture, Ross Douthat, News, New York Times, Journalism

4.2 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 20 October 2021

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Medical marijuana is now legal in more than half of the country. The cities of Denver, Seattle, Washington and Oakland, Calif., have also decriminalized psilocybin (the psychedelic element in “magic mushrooms”). Oregon went one step further, decriminalizing all drugs in small quantities, including heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. Attitudes toward drugs have changed considerably over the years. But the question of whether all drugs should be legalized continues to be contentious. How much have attitudes toward illegal drugs changed? And why? This week, Jane Coaston talks to Ismail Ali, the policy and advocacy director for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, and Jonathan P. Caulkins, a professor of operations research and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College, about the pros and cons of legalizing all drugs. Mentioned in this episode: “Is there a Case for Legalizing Heroin?” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells in The New Yorker “The Drug-Policy Roulette” by Jonathan P. Caulkins and Michael A.C. Lee in the National Affairs Summer 2012 edition “Michael Pollan’s ‘Trip Report,’” on The New York Times Opinion podcast “Sway”

Transcript

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0:00.0	Today on the argument, is it time to legalize all drugs?
0:08.3	Last November, an overwhelming majority of Oregonians voted to decriminalize most
0:13.5	drugs via referendum.
0:15.2	Medical marijuana is now legal in Alabama and a matter of months cannabis products could
0:20.2	be available to those who qualify.
0:22.6	Truth of the matter is, there's not nearly been enough evidence that has been acquired.
0:28.6	As the weather is not, it is a gateway drug and I want them lot more before I legalize
0:33.7	it nationally.
0:36.5	President Biden may not be ready for legalized recreational marijuana, but many states are
0:40.4	way ahead of him.
0:42.2	Connecticut just became the 18th state to legalize recreational marijuana.
0:46.9	And it's not just weed.
0:49.3	Several cities have recently decriminalized magic mushrooms, and Oregon just decriminalized
0:53.6	possession of small amounts of all drugs, including heroin, methamphetamines, and cocaine.
0:59.4	Seems like the war on drugs is over.
1:01.5	And drugs won.
1:03.3	Big.
1:05.8	I'm Jane Kostin, and there seems to be more and more consensus that jailing our way out
1:10.4	of the addiction crisis in the United States is not working.
1:14.8	But even hardcore drug policy reformers have vastly different takes than how we get to
1:18.8	a better place with drugs.
1:21.0	Like our guests today.
	...

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