What a Pot Holiday Like 4/20 Really Means

Today, April 20th, is a national marijuana holiday of sorts. But it’s not just a day for stoners to get stoned and for the media to roll out cute puns on words like ‘smoking,’ ‘rolling’ and ‘lighting up.’ It’s a day to reflect on one of the most disastrous criminal justice campaigns in American history and to gather our forces for reform.

Today, expect to see rallies across the country that demonstrate the growing cross-section of Americans standing up for marijuana reform. It's been a good year for reformers, and the momentum for reforms of marijuana laws — and to significantly shrink the broader drug war — is palpable. We’ve got the right President, Attorney General and Drug Czar. Fourteen states have legalized medicinal marijuana and 13 have removed criminal penalties for minor possession.

But there’s still a long way to go, and this fight is one that needs all of us.

In the last week alone, thousands of Change.org members have signed a Drug Policy Alliance petition calling for the legalization of marijuana nationwide. “More Americans support legalizing marijuana than ever before,” the petition says…”and it's time for us to speak up.” Add your name here.

The will to end the war on drugs will be fueled by policy and scientific research, but it’ll hinge on public opinion. I’ve written before that marijuana reform is too often seen as a fringe issue supported only by stoners who just want freedom to smoke pot on the sidewalk. But the real support for reform is much bigger than that — and we’re finally beginning to break through to the general, non-smoking public. The comments on pot posts here on Change.org provide compelling evidence of this — hundreds of non-users have spoken up in this space for evidence-based reforms to our counterproductive drug laws.

At a time that daily reflects the price we pay for corporate greed — from alleged investment fraud at Goldman Sachs to food policy to the absurd Citizens United decision — the alcohol industry’s role in keeping marijuana illegal is becoming crystal clear to voters of all stripes. We’re also (finally) waking up to the wastefulness of locking up nonviolent pot users and to the medicinal value of pot.

The arguments we’re up against are thin, and they’re based on fear and misinformation. To see just how shaky they are, look no further than a column today on CNBC’s website from former National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Dr. Robert DuPont. He starts with a laughable assertion: that the "current balanced, restrictive, and bipartisan drug policies of the United States are working reasonably well” and goes on to argue — with only the flimsiest of evidence — that legalized marijuana will cause a spike in use and huge problems with health and addiction.

If by “working reasonably well” he means selectively punishing the poor while allowing the rich to use any drugs they want in the privacy of their homes, he’s right. If he means keeping a medicinal drug out of the hands of a grandmother with cancer, he’s right. If he means preventing research that could further support medicinal use, he’s right. If he means subsidizing the alcohol industry by demonizing a safer alternative, he's right. Our current drug policies are working well for Mexican drug gangs and for Jack Daniels, but for everyone else, they’re an unmitigated disaster.

In the coming year, let’s each reach out to friends and family on this issue. Let’s broaden the coalition and turn up the volume. If you live in California, you'll have the chance to vote directly on the question in November. It’s time to end the prohibition of marijuana in the U.S. What will you do to help end this injustice?

Photo Credit: Foxtongue