Why Republicans Should Support Legalizing Marijuana

Trying to talk establishment Republicans into legalizing marijuana has always been an uphill battle. They don't care about the medical benefits of marijuana nor do they support the right of an individual to use and grow marijuana. In fact, Republicans generally prefer that marijuana users and growers be imprisoned for the crime of indulging in something that the social conservatives hold in the highest disdain, namely the natural right of every human being to control their own bodies and life.

The closest I ever came to not being laughed out of a Republican gathering on the marijuana legalization issue was when I told them "you absolutely should support legalizing marijuana because the liberals would be too damn stoned to find their way to the polls on election day and you would start winning elections by default".

Pot prisoners cost taxpayers billions, and the primary beneficiary of imprisoning non violent drug offenders and casual users is America's growing Prison Industrial Complex.  The lost War on Drugs has cost American taxpayers over $1 trillion and we have more drug users than ever.

But there is good news on the drug legalization front as the American people are slowly waking up to the utter nonsense of the War on Drugs.  In red state conservative Bible belt Kansas, a Kansas jury discovered jury nullification.

Prosecutor Defeated by Glaring Stupidity of Pot Laws

A Kansas defense attorney reports:

"I had a jury trial this morning on level 3 possession with intent MJ, level 4 possession drug paraphernalia and level 10 no drug tax stamp. During voir dire, my almost all white, middle-class, middle-aged jury went into full rebellion against the prosecutor stating that they wouldn't convict even if the client's guilt was proven beyond a reasonable doubt -- almost all of them! They felt marijuana should be legalized, what he does with it is his own business and that the jails are already full of people for this silly charge. Then, when the potential jurors found out that the State wanted him to pay taxes on illegal drugs, they went nuts. One woman from the back said how stupid this was and why are we even here wasting our time. A "suit" from the front said this was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. The prosecutor ended up dismissing the case. Judge gave me a dismissal with prejudice. I'm still laughing my ass off over this one. I have NEVER seen a full on mutiny by an entire jury pool before. Easiest win ever!"

Not quite jury nullification, but close. Something similar happened in Montana a couple of years ago.

If folks in Kansas are ready to acknowledge how silly and damaging our idiotic drug laws really are then that should be taken as a sign by the Republican Party that marijuana legalization is an issue  whose time has definitely arrived.

For more on the War on Drugs, see:

The Top Five Special Interest Groups Lobbying To Keep Marijuana Illegal (police unions, private prison corporations, alcohol and beer companies, pharmaceutical corporations and prison guard unions).

America's Prison Industrial Complex: Locking Up Folks For Corporate Prison Profits is the American Way

Police Unions, Rehab Owners Tainted With Sex Abuse Scandal Mount Effort To Stop Colorado From Legalizing Marijuana

The War on Drugs is Racist and Expensive

Legalizing drugs, especially marijuana, holds the potential to breath new life into the ailing GOP. The logical place to start is to abolish the federal law criminalizing marijuana and kick the issue back to the states where the folks in those states can decide how they want to handle marijuana.