British Decrim Move Inspires US Editorialists

When British Home Secretary David Blunkett announced earlier this month that England would effectively decriminalize simple marijuana possession -- it will become a ticketable offense next year -- the story played in newspapers across the land on this side of the water. And while editorial writers at leading newspapers such as the New York Times and Washington Post couldn't be bothered to address the subject, other editorial writers and newspaper columnists jumped in with both feet. The reaction was overwhelmingly, if not unanimously, positive.

The Santa Barbara Press News ran editorials lauding the British move on two consecutive days (July 15 and 16). "America's laws punishing the possession of marijuana for personal use do more harm than good," wrote the southern California newspaper. "The hypocrisy over medical marijuana shows how hard it will be to loosen the laws for other personal uses of cannabis. But it's high time to begin discussions about decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of the plant and giving people the right to decide what's best for their bodies."

The next day, under the headline "How to Lighten Up on Marijuana Laws," the Press News wrote that the US should follow the British example. Citing British police comments that enforcing the marijuana laws threatened respect for the legal system, the Press News wrote: "This is the kind of realistic attitude that law enforcement officers and political leaders in this country ought to adopt. But voters will have to lead the way."

The Colorado Gazette (July 16) also approved of the British move, calling it "an important step that will create a record US officials should study." The Gazette editorial also noted that the "main difference between Great Britain and the United States seems to be that some British officials have paid attention to scientific reports. Maybe US citizens should require politicians, DEA honcho Asa Hutchinson and other officials to read and pass a test on the 1999 Institute of Medicine report and the 1972 Shafer Commission Report before discussing marijuana again in public."

The Gazette editorial, which was syndicated for Freedom Newspapers, Inc., also showed up elsewhere. From Ohio, the Lima News (July 16) ran the editorial under the headline "Good Sense in England." In North Carolina, the Kinston Free Press (July 16) chimed in with a shortened version of the same editorial titled "Science Guides Britain's New Marijuana Law." And the Northwest Florida Daily News (July 20) titled its version of the editorial "British Have Better Idea for Marijuana."

The Chicago Tribune (July 20), in an editorial decrying congressional efforts to bar Washington, DC, residents from voting to approve the use of medical marijuana, also pointed to the British move to decriminalize. "Marijuana does not appear to concern people as much as it used to," wrote the Tribune. "Great Britain, which has the highest rates of cannabis use in Europe, has announced that Her Majesty's government will no longer arrest private users of marijuana. The controlled medicinal use of marijuana, as proposed in the District of Columbia, is hardly a threat to anyone. More frightening are politicians who stand in the way of anyone's right to vote on issues of great public concern."

At least two syndicated columnists whose work is widely distributed also addressed the issue. New York Newsday (July 15) columnist Sheryl McCarthy endorsed the British move, writing that "the United States should emulate its closest ally. Enough finger-pointing at the decadent Dutch, with their pot shops and needle parks (sic). We'd be in the same league as the normally straitlaced Brits. A less flexible drug policy hasn't served the British well, since they have one of the highest drug-death rates in Western Europe. So it's time to try something more sensible."