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Answer from Ross Cohen, B.A. in history and political science:
Living in New York, I'd say almost all of my liberal friends under the age of 40 favor either legalization or decriminalization of drugs. Many liberals and libertarians are of a similar mind on this, though libertarians may be open to blanket legalization of most or all drugs and liberals might tend to look at them case by case (as in marijuana, fine, heroin less so).
Fiscal conservatives are coming around on this issue as well due to the high cost of enforcement, prosecution and incarceration for arguably little to no benefit. It's not just the tremendous cost to taxpayers but also the lost earnings and productivity of the individuals involved.
Social conservatives are much less likely to get past their moral or religious qualms, but perhaps one day their view will liberalize slightly and they'll perhaps view it as more of an illness or sin to be treated than a "lock 'em up and throw away the key" scenario. Social conservatives don't tend to have that viewpoint or flexibility but there may come a time where the harmful effects of imprisonment on a family is the greater concern than the "evil" of the drug user.
Getting back to liberals, many see it as harmless and victimless, or an illness to be treated with compassion in rehab, which is much preferred over entering the prison system. Non-violent drug users tend to get better outcomes in a treatment center than in a penitentiary. Liberals are also concerned with the racial and socioeconomic disparities in enforcement and severity of penalties, the problem of recidivism when housed with serious criminals and not properly treated, the damages to families and the vicious cycles it promotes, and the difficulty of re-entering society and finding meaningful employment with a felony record. They also see the high cost to taxpayers and would prefer those funds spent elsewhere. Furthermore, no one wants to continue empowering and funding the violent cartels in a "war on drugs" that has been a 40-year failure.
At the state level, marijuana decriminalization and/or legalization has quickly spread as attitudes have changed over the past 10 years. At the federal level some liberals and conservatives (including libertarians) have expressed similar sentiments and started to find common ground. "Tough on crime" rhetoric peaked in the 1990s and was just starting to recede enough for there to be some openings for possible reform. Donald Trump has rekindled some of those old saws and may set things back, but he's also a bit unpredictable and fairly non-ideological so really anything can happen. With that said, his attorney general nominee is an old Alabama-style conservative so I would not bet on a light touch on drug enforcement. There could be some major new tensions between the currently contradictory federal and state laws with regard to marijuana.
Should liberals support the decriminalization of drugs? originally appeared on Quora—the knowledge-sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. More questions:
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