Joseph D. McNamara

In the following viewpoint, Joseph D. McNamara claims that due to the problems associated with drug prohibition, marijuana should be decriminalized and that no one should be arrested for using drugs that are currently illegal, as long as no other crime has been committed. He argues that drug prohibition is flawed because drug laws typically target minorities, are associated with unlawful searches and perjury by police officers, and do not lessen drug use. He concludes that the United States should follow the lead of nations such as Switzerland and the Netherlands, both of which have lowered crime rates by regulating drug use. McNamara is a retired police chief and a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, an organization that supports private enterprise and a limited federal government.

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