Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
From Matt Welch in Reason:
More than 800,000 people are still arrested each year for marijuana alone, despite the widespread misconception that pot has been largely decriminalized, and despite the fact that close to half of all Americans by now have smoked it, and more than half, by some surveys, favor legalizing it. We can thank the drug war for "stop-and-frisk" harassment of young New Yorkers, for the transfer of military equipment and tactics to local police departments, for wrong-door SWAT raids that kill innocents, for an entire shadow economy of dubious jailhouse snitching and back-room sentence reductions. Vanishingly few public officials even pretend anymore that the drug war can somehow be "won."
Politics
Comments
Why do people smoke marijuana? I ask this question in all seriousness because I have never done it. Is it a carcinogen?
Posted by: allison | June 9, 2011 11:38 AM
I'll feed the troll.
Why do people drink alcohol? It's the same question.
Posted by: Dugglebogey | June 9, 2011 11:47 AM
Why do people smoke marijuana? I ask this question in all seriousness because I have never done it. Is it a carcinogen?
Because it makes one feel good.
Yes, when smoked marijuana is carcinogenic, so get baking those Alice B Toklas brownies.
Posted by: Thony C. | June 9, 2011 12:01 PM
Why do people eat so much food they are 100 pounds overweight? Why do people spend themselves deeply into debt for fripperies? Why do people support lunatic religious leaders?
Awful lot of things people do that are bad for them...do we establish a massive police state and penal system to stop it all? Do we need to outlaw "usury" and reestablish debtors prisons to deal with bad spending habits? Why stop with the War on Drugs?
Posted by: Brian M | June 9, 2011 12:08 PM
An addition to the long list of things for which we can "thank" the drug war: outrageously high prices to support the lifestyles of international criminals (and I'm not even including DEA operatives...)
Posted by: bob koepp | June 9, 2011 12:35 PM
Here in Massachusetts the people voted 2:1 to decriminalize marijuana 2 years ago. Now if you're caught with 1 ounce or less, they confiscate it, fine you $100, and send you on your way. Kind of like getting a speeding ticket. Now that to me is a sensible policy.
Posted by: Poolio | June 9, 2011 12:56 PM
Poolio: Only in the "more sensible than what we've got now" sense. It still creates and supports the black market for the stuff, which is where about 90% of the problems associated with illegal drug use actually come from (including "overdoses" that are often the result of people smoking, injecting or ingesting some unknown chemical into their systems because it never got quality controlled the way, say, a bottle of aspirin would be).
Posted by: Freemage | June 9, 2011 1:45 PM
Why do people smoke marijuana? I ask this question in all seriousness because I have never done it.
Why do people post stupid questions to blogs? I ask this in all seriousness because I have never done it.
(Well, maybe once.)
Posted by: Taz | June 9, 2011 2:04 PM
"Chief Wiggins, there's been an increase in marijuana usage, apparently unmotivated!"
Posted by: Solomon Wagstaff | June 9, 2011 2:57 PM
Depends how you define winning. If the goal of the war on (some) drug (users) is to stop people from taking drugs, obviously it's failed. But if the goal is to create an authoritarian police state, it's succeeded admirably. And since the same people who want a war on drugs also usually want an authoritarian police state, it's not unreasonable to suspect that they were lying about their goal in the drug war.
Posted by: Miko | June 9, 2011 3:54 PM
A few months ago, on a news site about some horrific drug violence in Mexico (beheadings, I think), a lot of the comments blamed it on the drugs, not the money. Why can't these people see past the first layer of the problem?
Posted by: tfkreference | June 9, 2011 3:56 PM
Posted by: davem | June 9, 2011 6:45 PM
Poolio, it's similar here in Canada (Alberta, even) where you just get a ticket if you're caught smoking with it (or otherwise ingesting it) or possessing a certain amount of it (I've never looked into the legality of specific quantities - obviously the penalties are more severe if you have enough to be considered a trafficker). When my brother was caught with it, I don't even think he got a ticket; it was handled in the school system, and he was coerced into drug counseling (the logic being that the problem isn't the drug, it's the problems motivating drug use). It seems, then, that we have a significantly more laissez-fare attitude about it. If marijuana is going to be illegal, then that sort of response seems more appropriate (and less expensive for taxpayers!) than locking people up.
Posted by: Eleanor | June 9, 2011 7:23 PM
Freemage: Yes, I am assuming the premise that it's still illegal. This is a sensible enforcement policy given that premise. The gov't might legalize it, regulate it, and heavily tax it, true, but keeping marijuana "offenders" out of jail is a good start.
davem: "Decriminalized" means it is no longer a criminal offense (misdemeanor or felony). It is now considered a "civil infraction" like a speeding ticket or a parking violation. These things are all illegal, but are punishable only by a simple fine. And they don't show up on background checks.
However, if you have more than one ounce, then that can be construed as intent to distribute, and that's still a criminal offense. Baby steps. If you're going to put a question on the ballot, it has to one you hope has some chance of getting passed.
Posted by: Poolio | June 9, 2011 11:31 PM
poolio @ #6
Take away your stash? That's a terrible policy. Why should the police get the stash for free by 'confiscating' yours?
There is no valid reason why marijuana should be illegal, and you should be allowed to have as much as you want. It is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco.
It should be treated in exactly the same manner.
Posted by: mandas | June 10, 2011 1:31 AM
@Alison (#1) -- to relieve pain. To relax muscles. To stimulate the appetite. And many, many, other reasons as well.
Sit down. Smoke up. Relax.
We won't bite... much.
Posted by: WMDKitty | June 10, 2011 2:50 AM
Adding to WMDKitty-- to lower high blood pressure. I have a friend who finds it cheaper to take small amounts of marijuana smoke rather than buy bottles of medicine, and just as effective.
There are many health benefits, and I would desperately like for doctors to be able to do proper studies, and for people to be able to use cannabis legally.
Posted by: Samantha Vimes | June 10, 2011 4:20 AM