Gary E. Johnson

About the author: Gary E. Johnson is the Republican governor of the state of New Mexico and the first governor in the history of New Mexico to be elected to two four-year consecutive terms. Johnson is also the owner of his own construction company and an accomplished triathlete.

Many people have made a poor choice in using marijuana, but they do not belong in jail. Like alcohol and tobacco, drugs cause deaths, but people are not incarcerated for simply using alcohol and tobacco: The use of these substances is regulated, particularly as regards their accessibility by young people. Drugs are a bad choice and a handicap, but the money spent on the war on drugs would be better spent regulating, taxing, and controlling the $400-billion per year drug industry than incarcerating those who...