Should Minnesota legalize recreational marijuana?

Minnesota has a history of progressive politics. Think Hubert Humphrey and his groundbreaking civil rights work, and Paul Wellstone with his pro-labor work as well as his major impact on mental health issues and domestic abuse issues.

And by a vote of the people, Minnesota was the first state to reject a constitutional amendment proposing to ban same-sex marriage.

But it’s not necessarily “progressive” to legalize marijuana.

There is a lot of support out there for legal recreational use. A recent survey by a Twin Cities TV station found that 56 percent of Minnesotans favor legalization of recreational marijuana. There are two political parties advocating for legal marijuana in Minnesota: the Legal Marijuana Now Party and the Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party, both having achieved “major party status” after each one’s candidate received at least 5 percent of the vote in the past statewide election. Clearly, Minnesotans won’t mind if the legislature legalizes marijuana.

My question is: Why? What is the great rush to legalize a recreational drug? Some Harry’s Gang viewers may remember that I was opposed to medical marijuana back when that was an issue, because I felt that it was a “back door” way to get recreational marijuana legalized. Back then, I said that we should be discussing recreational use.

Turns out I was right. Only a few years after allowing doctors to prescribe medical marijuana, the same groups are returning to the legislature to push for recreational use of the drug. While it’s a logical progression, the two issues are vastly different. I question the motives of people who are adamant that we legalize marijuana quickly. It seems strange to be so singularly focused on this issue.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. I am in favor of allowing doctors to prescribe a form of marijuana in situations where they feel it would be helpful to their patients. With medical marijuana, we have health care professionals evaluating each patient before prescribing the drug, and that level of scrutiny is appropriate. Medical doctors are trained in medicine, obviously, and are in the best position to prescribe appropriate drugs, even marijuana, if the situation calls for it. Medicinal marijuana has real benefits.

I suppose recreational use has its benefits, too. I hardly know anyone who hasn’t tried marijuana, even when it was illegal. Some stories are hilarious; marijuana use by college students is somewhat a rite of passage nowadays. Some stories are tragic: as with any recreational drug, some will abuse or misuse it.

The matter should NOT be put on a ballot. That’s because we need to better evaluate the issue, and not just from a moral viewpoint or a libertarian view. I’m not convinced we know or understand the pros or cons of allowing recreational marijuana. We’re fortunate that we can look to other states, such as Oregon and Colorado, to guide us in making this decision. How has it affected crime? Is there a detriment to children? Have driving accidents increased, or decreased? What is the effect on domestic abuse?

Once we have better answers to those questions, we can better address legalizing marijuana in Minnesota. Until then, what’s the rush?

Pete Radosevich is the publisher of the Pine Knot News community newspaper and an attorney in Esko who hosts the talk show Harry’s Gang on CAT-7. He can be reached at [email protected].