Should we be worried or hopeful about the Obama Administration and the drug war?

A couple of new commentaries about the incoming Obama Administration and marijuana policies can give those interested in this aspect of the drug war either new hopes or new fears.  First, over at Esquire, John Richardson has this piece headlined “Why Obama Really Might Decriminalize Marijuana.”  But, Jacob Sollum at Reason has this response that explains why he fears that the most anyone should expect is “A Blue-Ribbon Panel, If We’re Lucky.”

Ever the moderate and sentencing fanatic, I think (or at least hope) that the Obama Administration will see the virtues of a sensible casualty assessment and than a slow and steady troop withdrawal in this area of the drug war.  I believe that a sober cost/benefit analysis of modern marijuana policy would lead to the conclusion that we right now spend too much taxpayer money in order to punish unequally a small percentage of those folks involved in distribution and use of a drug that few consider very serious.  If the Obama Administration is seriously committed to reviewing all federal programs to assess their efficacy, the federal investment to the pot portion of the drug war ought to be reduced in the years to come.

Some related posts:

• Interesting reflections on Obama appointees from drug policy reformers
• President-Elect Obama officially names Eric Holder as his AG pick
• Will any Prez candidate promise to get us out of a failed war … on drugs?
• “Real commander needed for the war on drugs”
• “America’s Forgotten War”
• Politics and the war on drugs
• Are we on the verge of a new changed era concerning federal sentencing law and policy?
• “Smart on Crime: Recommendations for the Next Administration and Congress”
• A dollars and sense criticism of Senator Obama’s crime-fighting plans
• Senator Biden, crime and punishment
• FSR publishes issue on “American Criminal Justice Policy in a ‘Change’ Election”