A better way to legalize marijuana

States are generally following the same model for marijuana legalization. They don’t have to.

As marijuana legalization has grown into a political triumph, a standard model has emerged for how it should be done: “Regulate marijuana like alcohol” is the slogan that has dominated legalization campaigns since Colorado became one of the first two states to legalize pot.

This is commercialized legalization. For-profit companies grow, cultivate, and sell marijuana. Some companies are expanding across state and national lines and doing more advertising. Soon enough, the market for marijuana will look a lot like the market for alcohol, with large companies spreading brands to make big profits while smaller, boutique operations take off here and there.

So far, 18 states have commercial legalization, and there are fights in a handful more states as well as in Washington, DC, to enact the model there.

Some experts and advocates don’t love this model. There are genuine concerns that the current commercial model of legalization will lead to “Big Marijuana”: a large industry that, similar to the tobacco, alcohol, and opioid industries, has a powerful financial incentive to market and sell its product to as many people as possible, no matter the consequences for consumers or the public more broadly. [Read more at Vox]