Don’t call it reefer madness

Because libertarians never achieve political power, they have the luxury of advancing passionately held, logically consistent theories that will never be tested in real life.

Conservatives, who do accede to political power from time to time, must temper theories — especially those that make physical appetites their touchstone — with a view to their consequences for society. From hard experience, conservatives understand there is many a slip between the cup of theoretical individual liberties and the lip of desirable social outcomes.

Like most liberals and many other conservatives, I don’t believe possession or use of marijuana should be criminalized. But unlike most liberals and all libertarians, I don’t think it should be legalized.

Read More?