Legalization or Decriminalization?

When lawyers and political philosophers talk about whether people should be allowed to use drugs like weed, they often distinguish between two important terms: drug decriminalization and drug legalization. Advocating for drug decriminalization means advocating for the legalization of recreational use and owning small quantities of drugs. Advocating for drug legalization means advocating for also being able to selI it. Some think these two positions are incompatible. That’s our question today: is it consistent to advocate for drug decriminalization yet oppose drug legalization? To explore this issue, we have Professor Peter de Marneffe, whose expertise is in political philosophy and philosophy of law, and undergraduate Brandon Babb, who is pursuing his Bachelors of Arts in philosophy in ASU.