The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY FEBRUARY 2015 47 Marijuana: Decriminalization, Legalization and the Foreign Service In November 2014, voters in Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia decided to join Colorado and Wash- ington in legalizing the use of marijuana. Recent polling indicates a majority of Ameri- cans support its legalization. However, federal law continues to classify mari- juana as an illicit Schedule 1 controlled substance. This month’s column explores these contradictions and their implications for workforce development and foreign policy. Changing Legal Framework Four states and the District of Columbia have legal- ized the recreational use of marijuana, while dozens of other states have legalized its medicinal use. In November New York City announced that its police would no longer arrest individuals for low-level marijuana crimes, but would issue summonses instead. However, against this rap- idly changing legal backdrop, U.S. federal law has remained constant. Changing Societal Norms Polling from the Pew Research Center indi cates that a majority of Ameri- cans support regulating instead of prohibiting the use of marijuana. Support is inversely correlated with age. It is particularly strong among millennials (those born after 1980) and weakest among the silent generation (those born between 1928 and 1945). Increased Department Scrutiny Despite the changing legal framework and societal norms, the Department of State has continued with an employee disciplinary program more appropriate for the 1980s War on Drugs than that for managing and developing a 21st-century workforce. It’s hard for me to under- stand the rationale for the department’s increased focus on an area that is increasingly being liberal- ized. At a time when the department is seeking to recruit the nation’s best and brightest from a generation in which marijuana use is no longer demonized, and when the department needs to retain employees in which the federal government has already invested hundreds of thousands of dollars, such a discretionary and heavy-handed approach may not be the most e“ec- tive policy. Foreign Policy In 2011 the Global Commis- sion on Drug Policy, a high- level 22-member interna- tional commission including former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and former Secretary of State George Shultz, issued an indictment of the global War on Drugs, stating that it had failed “with devastating consequences for individu- als and societies around the world.” In September 2014, the commission released its second report, Taking Control: Pathways to Drug Policies that Work , reiterating its recom- mendations to decriminalize, identify alternatives to incar- ceration, and place greater emphasis on public health approaches, in addition to now advocating for the legal regulation of psychoactive substances. Their work is a prelude to e“orts to reshape global drug policy at a time when U.N. member states are respond- ing to internal democratic pressure to change (Uruguay decriminalized marijuana in 2013). The State Department’s leaders are beginning to realize that we need to fundamentally rethink how STATE VP VOICE | BY MATTHEW ASADA AFSA NEWS Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA State VP. Contact: asadam@state.gov | (202) 647-8160 | @matthewasada we conduct our foreign drug policy. In October 2014 Assistant Secretary for Inter- national Narcotics and Law Enforcement A“airs William Brownfield spoke about the importance of more flexible interpretations of interna- tional conventions and more tolerance for national poli- cies, noting the challenge of enforcing state and federal law in the United States. So the question remains, as the department seeks to develop and build support for a more flexible and tolerant global drug policy, why does it paradoxically seek the opposite for its current or future employees? The department needs to be as progressive with its workforce development and discipline policies as it is with global drug policy. Until it is, AFSA will continue to encour- age our senior leadership to rethink its approach to the issue while advising employ- ees to comply with federal law and existing department regulations—if they wish to remain with the department. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the issue at asadam@state.gov. n Next month: The Foreign Service Open Assignments System. The department needs to be as progressive with its workforce development and discipline policies as it is with global drug policy.