The New York Times editorial board has called for the federal decriminalization of marijuana in a weekend writing that morphs the American flag into the Amerijane flag.
Likening a repeal on the federal ban of marijuana to the lifting of Prohibition — marijuana is “far less dangerous” than alcohol, the paper argues — the board stated that it’s simply time for such a bold step amid action at the state level to reform marijuana laws.
“There are no perfect answers to people’s legitimate concerns about marijuana use. But neither are there such answers about tobacco or alcohol, and we believe that on every level — health effects, the impact on society and law-and-order issues — the balance falls squarely on the side of national legalization,” the board writes. “That will put decisions on whether to allow recreational or medicinal production and use where it belongs — at the state level.”
The board observed that nearly three-quarters of the states have undertaken some sort of reform on the issue, but that “experimentation” still leaves citizens “vulnerable to the whims of whoever happens to be in the White House and chooses to enforce or not enforce the federal law.”
The editorial elaborated on the “vast” social costs of marijuana prohibition, which haven fallen disproportionately on young black males.
“[T]he result is racist,” the editorial states of marijuana laws, “falling disproportionately on young black men, ruining their lives and creating new generations of career criminals.
The web editorial has a border graphic of the American flag — but the stars turn to marijuana leaves when scrolling down.
Earlier this year, National Review wrote an editorial favorable of marijuana decriminalization, though as POLITICO notes, the Times is the “largest” newspaper to endorse it.
