Peter SchorschPardon me while I channel my inner David Simon…
Can’t Congressman Trey Radel find some measure of political comfort in last week’s Quinnipiac poll showing overwhelming support by Floridians for the medical use of marijuana?
By now you know the tragic story of Radel and his arrest on possession of cocaine. The freshman lawmaker is now on his way to self-imposed rehab, while his political future is unclear. By sheer coincidence, eight hours after Radel spoke to the press, a new Q-poll was released showing that 82 percent of Floridians support allowing adults to legally use marijuana for medical use if it is prescribed by a doctor.
If nothing else, these two data points — Radel’s arrest and the campaign to legalize medical marijuana — should kick into high-gear a much-needed discussion about the failed ‘War on Drugs.’
Meanwhile, as Radel gets help for his addiction, he must decide what is his next step, politically speaking. Of course, pressure will be on him from all quarters — Republican leadership, his hometown newspaper, etc. — to resign. These critics are not wrong. Radel clearly broke a serious law. And as a public official, he is held to the highest standards.
But isn’t there an argument here that Radel, like millions of others, is a victim of a “War on Drugs’ that was lost years ago? Doesn’t the Q-poll indicate that voters are ready to negotiate the terms of surrender in this war?
Obviously, cocaine use is not the same as marijuana use prescribed by a doctor. And critics of permitting medical marijuana will quickly argue that equivocating as I am here is exactly the type of slippery slope thinking they predict will lead to further decriminalization of drug use.
The same kind of Chicken Little logic has been employed in the debate over the expansion of gambling. Only Chicken Little was half-right. Allowing bingo and state lotteries did pave the way for destination casinos and online gambling. Yet the sky has not fallen. Society has simply normalized this vice.
Is it ready to do the same with recreational drug use?
The Quinnipiac polls shows that voters are divided 48 to 46 percent on allowing adults to legally possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use. There is a gender gap as men support so-called “recreational use,” 52 to 44 percent, while women are opposed, 49 to 44 percent.
That’s today, when any form of marijuana use is illegal. What will the numbers look like if the medical marijuana initiative passes and, just as when the Florida Lottery referendum passed, the sky does not fall? Under that scenario, in five or so years, you could very well see two-to-one support for recreational drug use.
By then, getting busted with $260 worth of coke will (rightly) seem less serious than being stopped for a DUI.
Obviously, Trey Radel doesn’t have five years to decide his political future. He clearly broke the law. My gut, as someone who has been down the same dark path as Radel, tells me that his backstory will get worse before it gets better.
But the day is coming soon when a politician being arrested for possession of drugs will no longer be a front-page story. That’s because, by then, it will be something we no longer arrest people for anymore.
