Right Side Round Table: Should marijuana be legalized? Hamilton County Grand Jury thinks so

Question: Should marijuana be legalized? The Hamilton County Grand Jury thinks so.

Drew Johnson

Editor of the Free Press opinion page

Drew Johnson, Editor of the Free Press opinion page at the Chattanooga Times Free Press

In years past, the Hamilton County grand jury’s recommendation that the “state legislature should consider legalizing the possession of a small amount of marijuana, which is not packaged for resale” would have set off a firestorm. Now, however, the suggestion has fostered a reasonable discussion.

Clearly, the American public is ready to reconsider marijuana laws, as evidenced by a March poll conducted by the Pew Research Center that found a majority of Americans favor legalizing the use of marijuana. Locally, as the grand jury clearly understands, there is a practical rationale for decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana even for those of us who do not use weed: It would save taxpayers lots of money.