Issue Position: End Prohibition of Cannabis

Issue Position

The war on drugs has failed--costing Minnesota taxpayers too much and destroying too many lives. It's time to remove the prohibition on personal use of cannabis and treat addiction as an illness, not a crime.

Alcohol is harmful to many, causing untold damage to lives and property every year. Yet alcohol is legal, because our nation learned the hard way that prohibition only makes the problems worse. It is time to apply that lesson to cannabis. Cannabis is much safer than alcohol. While it is not harmless for everyone, prohibition of cannabis has not worked and causes far more harm than the drug itself. Minnesotans spend perhaps $700 million per year on illegal cannabis, which they buy without knowing the dose or purity of what they buy. Cannabis prohibition also contributes to racial disparities in our state. Blacks use cannabis about much as Whites but are arrested for it about 8 times as often. We fill expensive prison cells with people who do not belong there and with more minority Minnesotans than whites. Without prohibition we could do a better job keeping cannabis away from children and educating our population on how to use it responsibly and with regard to the rights of others.

Minnesotans should have the opportunity to decide whether to legalize personal use of cannabis under a careful system of regulation and taxation. Law enforcement should have a voice on drug policy, but never a veto.

Minnesota has fewer felons in prison than most other states, adjusted for population. Still, too many inmates have substance abuse disorder or other mental health issues that would be better treated in another setting. Treatment courts are a step in the right direction, and we must encourage and fund these initiatives. We also need to make sure that people who have been through the justice system can find a path back to a productive life. Lack of housing, lack of needed treatment, and lack of employment are barriers to reentry that must be addressed. Another barrier to reentry is loss of voting rights. People who serve time in jail or prison should have their voting rights restored when they get out--and not have to wait until they are finished with probation or parole.

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