Opinion

Marijuana legalization — a step toward social justice

Marijuana legalization advocates announced a plan last month to put an initiative to tax, control and regulate the adult consumption of marijuana on the 2016 ballot in California. As a retired police officer who spent more than 20 years on the force and who has closely watched legalization in Colorado and Washington, I’m here to tell you it’s one of the best things California can do to improve public safety.

In the two states that have already taken the marijuana market from the hands of cartels and street gangs and placed it in the hands of sellers licensed and regulated by the government, the results have been overwhelmingly positive.

Colorado has seen a reduction in traffic fatalities since legalization in 2012. Denver has seen a reduction in the number of violent crimes, as police have been able to redirect their resources from low-level, nonviolent drug crimes to more serious matters.

At the same time, criminal syndicates have seen a major source of their funding dry up. Mexican cartels, known for their gruesome violence such as mass beheadings and melting enemies in vats of acid, have been particularly hard hit as consumers move to legal markets and many farmers have given up illegal production of marijuana altogether.

This is good news for consumers, who in Washington and Colorado are protected from the pesticides, mold and other contaminants often found in illegal crops. They also know that what they’re buying hasn’t been laced with other drugs.

Parents can rest easier, too. With the shift from sales on street corners to sales behind store counters, there’s been a drop in teen use. According to a Healthy Kids survey conducted during the first year of legalization, high school students in Colorado both used marijuana at lower rates than in previous years and at rates lower than the country as a whole.

Finally, legalizing marijuana is a tremendous step toward social justice. Despite being equally likely to use marijuana and less likely to sell it than whites, African Americans are disproportionately arrested for marijuana crimes. The war on drugs has become the latest social mechanism that disenfranchises blacks and other people of color. Any moves we make toward ending it furthers the cause of equality.

There are many reasons to support the legalization of marijuana in California. There are lessons to be learned from legalization in both Colorado and Washington. But the lesson we as Californians should take away is that regulation and control ensure that the state — not criminals — benefit from one of our largest cash crops.

We have a reputation as a pioneer in the creation of good social policy. Let’s live up to that reputation.

Diane Goldstein was a lieutenant commander in the Redondo Beach (Los Angeles County) Police Department for more than 20 years and is now a board member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of law enforcement officials opposed to the war on drugs. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at www.sfgate.com/submissions/#1.