John MacDonald

University of Pennsylvania Website

John MacDonald is Professor of Criminology and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a Ph.D. in Criminology from the University of Maryland.

Voting History

Marijuana reform

Pardoning federal convictions for simple possession of marijuana will have meaningful social benefits that exceed any social costs.

Vote Confidence
Neutral/No Opinion 10
Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree 8
Comments

This is a ceremonial pardon, as there are very few people with a federal conviction for simple possession only. On the other hand, there are no real social costs to public safety.

Pardoning state convictions for simple possession of marijuana will have meaningful social benefits that exceed any social costs.

Vote Confidence
Neutral/No Opinion 10
Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree 8
Comments

Very few people end up in prison or jail on possession alone without significant other criminal histories. However, given that marijuana is essentially de-crimininalized in half of US states and widely used, it makes little sense to allow a conviction for possession to remain on someone's record.

Moving marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a less-restrictive schedule or legalizing it at the federal level would have meaningful social benefits that exceed any social costs.

Vote Confidence
Strongly Agree 10
Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree 8
Comments

The less restrictive schedule is long overdue.