comments_image Comments

David Frum Shares His Shocking Marijuana Ignorance With Newsweek/Daily Beast Audience

Relying on a variety of well-worn drug myths, Frum argues that legalizing marijuana would exacerbate inequality and problems affecting youths.



David Frum's new Daily Beast article on marijuana bemoans the poor economic prospects of America's younger generations, and brings in the absurd claim that legalizing marijuana would kick young people -- and the disadvantaged at-large -- while they’re down.

Relying on a variety of well-worn drug myths, Frum says that Americans already engage in too many risky behaviors, and because life is still so hard for so many of us, legalizing pot would only make it all worse.

The reality is that legalizing marijuana would be a big boost to opportunity for young people: In one year, marijuana decriminalization in California reduced the youth crime rate by 20 percent. Decreasing pot arrests is additionally important because some people -- low-income, young men of color -- are far more likely to be arrested for marijuana use than their pot-smoking, richer, white counterparts.

Frum's bleeding-heart argument against legalization hinges on the idea that marijuana legalization would lead to more use, which means more people subjected to habitual marijuana use and the harms he associates with it. Moreover, Frum claims that because young people are disadvantaged and smoking more pot these days, they are more likely to become long-term marijuana users, and should not be additionally burdened by the cognitive problems he claims marijuana causes.

But, as Frum briefly notes, correlation does not imply causation. And even the “amotivational syndrome” so often applied to stoner stereotypes has been proven to be a cause of marijuana use, not a symptom. Frum writes:

The good news is that many—most—young people will experiment with marijuana, quit, and suffer no long-lasting ill effects. The bad news is that more young people are experimenting with marijuana, raising the absolute numbers of those who will become habitual users.


Legalizing marijuana does not encourage self-harm. Despite marijuana’s illegality, 40 percent of Americans have smoked pot in their lifetimes. Legalizing marijuana, however, could reduce the organized crime associated with its sale, make purchasing the drug more difficult for younger users (in Colorado and Washington, marijuana is legal for adults over 21), and help keep the young people who did get caught from facing draconian consequences like jail, difficulty finding employment and temporary loss of financial aid for college.

Because marijuana laws are enforced by race, and often in low-income areas, reducing the arrest rate and the barriers arrest places in the way of opportunity would not eliminate racial injustice, but it would help. Frum, however, seems to believe the minimal harms associated with pot outweigh the criminal consequences. He suggests that disadvantaged Americans will be more drawn to using it and suffering these consequences, blowing a few dog whistles along the way:


See more stories tagged with: