[caption id=”attachment_143395″ align=”aligncenter” width=”4337″] Republican presidential candidate New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks during a forum Monday, Aug. 3, 2015, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie criticizes the war on drugs, but he’s effectively a staunch supporter.
On Monday, Christie spoke at a presidential forum in New Hampshire, declaring “the war on drugs has been a failure.” He called the war well-intentioned, but wants to funnel non-violent offenders into treatment, not prison.
Despite his remarks, Christie remains one of the most hardline candidates in the Republican field.
Last week in Colorado, Christie emphasized his desire to crack down on state liberalization of marijuana laws.
The only acceptable way for drug policy reform, according to Christie, is on the federal level. Tax revenue from marijuana is blood money, and he wants to “destigmatize” drug use, but not legalize it.
His posture on the war of drugs as a reformer, in this context, is meaningless. Older Republicans remain strongly against legalizing any drugs, but 63 percent of millennial Republicans support the legalization of marijuana, as well as 47 percent of Generation X Republicans.
The re-introduction of marijuana prohibition in four states and the District of Columbia, under a Christie presidency, would be difficult on a practical level and an expansion of federal power to the detriment of the states. Shifting non-violent offenders into treatment has fewer benefits than is assumed, as most drug violations are not for non-violent possession.
Calling the war on drugs a failure is strong rhetoric from presidential candidates compared with a decade ago, but substantive policy differences have not followed suit.
Drug reform under a Christie presidency — until further elaboration — is all smoke and mirrors.
