Bloomberg's War on Pot Smoking Must Stop

"More people are arrested in New York City on charges of possessing small amounts of marijuana than on any other crime on the books. Nearly all are black or Latino males under the age of 25, most with no previous convictions. Many have never been arrested before," reports Jim Dwyer in today's New York Times. In fact, the rate of arrest in this category has exploded under the Bloomberg administration, scarring the lives of many with no previous records or criminal backgrounds.

What more information do you need to conclude that there is something seriously wrong with the situation in New York City, a so-called liberal bastion of enlightened individuals, led by a self-confessed pot smoker (I'm talking about you, Mayor Bloomberg) who ensconced in his protective bubble of billions need not worry about the concerns of tax paying New Yorkers he's not likely to run into at any one of his champagne parties. Come on, Mr. Mayor. Shame on you for allowing this to go on in our great city.

Dwyer's story in the Times couldn't be more on point coming as it does on the heels of a report (via the Financial Times) issued by a group of independent political heavyweights to conclude that: "The global war on drugs has failed." Readers should not take my word for this. It is the opening sentence of a report on the failures of prohibition from an independent Global Commission on Drug Policy. What makes this report astonishing is not its content, now widely accepted among disinterested people, but who is associated with it. Among signatories are George Shultz, former US secretary of state, Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Kofi Annan, former secretary general of the United Nations, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former president of Brazil, Ernesto Zedillo, former president of Mexico and Javier Solana, former European Union high representative for foreign and security policy. Salute them all. They are honorable people prepared to state that the policy on which the world has engaged for decades, at the behest of the US, is a disaster."

So Mayor Bloomberg, if you're as smart as everyone says you are and if you're an enlightened liberal and fiscal conservative it's your time to shine. Take a stand. And do the righteous thing!