In response to my debate with Frum, Kleiman pens thirteen "theses on cannabis policy." Number seven:
Among the consequences of cannabis use under current conditions among poor minority youth, being arrested is more common than developing a chronic substance abuse disorder.
Friedersdorf makes a related point:
It is incontestable that the War on Drug's burdens fall most heavily on the poor, and it makes no sense to discuss how marijuana legalization would affect inequality in America without grappling with the specific ways that marijuana prohibition exacerbates inequality, especially since its costs — years spent in prison, police intrusion into private homes, bullets flying in one's neighborhood, etc. — are often so much more life-altering than all but the most unusual recreational use.
Over to you, David. No rush. It's the Holiday Season. But it would be great to hash all this out.
(Photo: Hasan Cunningham listens to speakers during a self-help group session focusing on life outside of prison at Sheridan Correctional Center November 14, 2005 in Sheridan, Illinois. A dedicated center for the treatment of inmates with drug and alcohol abuse problems, the state opened Sheridan in January 2004 to combat a recidivism rate of 54% in its penal system. Nearly 69 percent of all inmates in the Illinois prison system are serving time for drug or alcohol related offenses. The recidivism rate for prisoners who have served time at Sheridan is only 7.7 percent. Cunningham, whose drugs of choice were marijuana and alcohol, is nearing the end of a four-year sentence for drug conspiracy. It is his fourth time in prison. By Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The Dish 