Decriminalization: Drugs in American Elections

In the election in which conservatism showed that it is still strong, the long and unproductive policy of total drug war in the United States has taken a turn. Six states proposed referendums that, to a greater or lesser extent, decriminalize the possession and use of narcotics — and the proposals were approved in all states by a wide margin. “Today’s victory is a landmark declaration that the time has come to stop criminalizing people for drug use,” celebrated Kassandra Frederique, director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a New York nongovernmental organization that advocates exemption from penalties for “responsible” consumption. Four states — New Jersey, Arizona, Montana and South Dakota — have joined 11 others in legalizing marijuana, meaning that one in three Americans can now use cannabis without breaking the law. Voters in South Dakota and Mississippi, two conservative bastions, have also approved its medical use, which is already authorized in more than 30 American states.

On the liberal West Coast, Oregon went further: By a majority vote of 58.6%, it decriminalized the use and possession of small amounts of all drugs, including cocaine, heroin, LSD and methamphetamine, in addition to authorizing the medicinal consumption of psychedelic mushrooms. Hallucinogenic plants are no longer banned in the capital, Washington, D.C. The results confirm the willingness of American society, on the right and on the left, to reevaluate the policy of force of the government of former President Richard Nixon in the 1970s. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center in 2000, 60% of the population was against legalization of drugs and 32% in favor.