The Navy Needs A Fully Baked Plan for Cannabis Legalization
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Authors
Comins, Aaron
Seagren, Chad W.
Heissel, Jennifer A.
Subjects
Advisors
Date of Issue
2020-01
Date
January 2020
Publisher
U.S. Naval Institute
Language
Abstract
Popular support for federal legalization of cannabis use is growing in the United States. Eleven states and the District of Columbia have legalized the consumption and production of cannabis, 13 states have decriminalized its use or dramatically reduced enforcement, and 44 states allow medical marijuana use.1 Like the nation's recent experience with gay marriage, radical shifts in public opinion affect the law in dynamic and surprising ways. Thus, it is likely only a matter of time before cannabis is legal at the federal level. The Navy must prepare for the challenges and opportunities of this new environment. Specifically, upon federal legalization of cannabis use, the Department of the Navy should be prepared to remove marijuana from the its zero-tolerance drug policy. Liberalizing the policy to allow cannabis use is not unambiguously positive, but the likely benefits of so doing convincingly exceed the costs.
Type
Article
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Graduate School of Defense Management (GSDM)
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
4 p.
Citation
Comins, Aaron; Seagren, Chad W. and Jennifer Heissel. The Navy Needs A Fully Baked Plan for Cannabis Legalization. U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, 2020.
Distribution Statement
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.