New York Times Endorses Oregon’s Marijuana Legalization Efforts

Monday, October 06, 2014

GoLocalPDX News Team

A Sunday New York Times editorial has endorsed Oregon’s ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana.

The Oct. 5 statement by the newspaper’s editorial board endorsed all the marijuana legalization referendums headed to the ballot next month, which include Alaska, the District of Columbia and Oregon’s Measure 91.

“Decades of arresting people for buying, selling and using marijuana have hurt more than helped society, and minority communities have been disproportionately affected by the harsh criminal penalties of prohibition,” the editorial stated.

The endorsement comes on the heels of on an August New York Times editorial, in which the board called for a repeal of marijuana prohibition across the country, and compared it to the policy of alcohol probation that vexed law enforcement in the 1930s.

“It took 13 years for the United States to come to its senses and end Prohibition, 13 years in which people kept drinking, otherwise law-abiding citizens became criminals and crime syndicates arose and flourished. It has been more than 40 years since Congress passed the current ban on marijuana, inflicting great harm on society just to prohibit a substance far less dangerous than alcohol,” the editorial stated.

Oregon's 'Yes on 91' campaign welcomed the New York Times move. "Although a growing majority in Oregon and nationwide support a better approach to marijuana, it's rare for the most authoratitive newspaper in the country to weigh in on a ballot measure," said Peter Zukerman, Communications Director for the 'Yes on 91' campaign. "It underscores the importance of Measure 91 to refocus police resources and stop empowering illegal dealers and cartels."

Currently half of all U.S. states have reformed marijuana laws, in some ways decriminalizing it or legalizing it for medical or recreational use.

As Washington State goes forward with its own legalization efforts a number of problems have surfaced ranging from shortage of marijuana at stores, to increased DUIs to a lack of places for people to smoke the drug publicly.

A KATU TV poll published in Sept 25 said the current race to legalize marijuana in Oregon was “too close to call.”

KATU said the margins were thin, with “44 percent of likely voters supporting it and 40 percent opposed.” Because older voters were largely against the measure, passage of the initiative depends largely on voter turnout among younger demographics, according to KATU TV.