Is Legalizing Marijuana a Solution to Unfair Drug Arrests? One Opponent’s Take

One reason advocates argue for the legalization of marijuana is that arrests for possession of the drug fall disproportionately on young black men, which has the potential of ruining their lives and creating new generations of criminals.

Are they right?

Kevin A. Sabet, a leading voice against legalizing pot, recently spoke with The Daily Signal to share his take.

“I don’t think young black men or anybody should get a criminal record for low-level use,” Sabet said, adding:

I don’t think we should use our law enforcement time jailing or imprisoning marijuana users. But to solve that problem, you don’t need to go to the other extreme of creating big tobacco 2.0.

Watch the video to hear his full response.

Note: Sabet served in the Obama administration as senior adviser at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and also worked in the Clinton (2000) and Bush (2002-2003) administrations. He is co-founder of SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) and director of the Drug Policy Institute at the University of Florida.

• Alex Anderson co-produced this video. 

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