Robert Apel
Robert Apel is Professor of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University. He holds a Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice 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 |
|---|---|
| Agree | 8 |
| Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|
| Agree | 8 |
Pardoning state convictions for simple possession of marijuana will have meaningful social benefits that exceed any social costs.
| Vote | Confidence |
|---|---|
| Strongly Agree | 8 |
| Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|
| Agree | 8 |
Comments
There is domain similarity with expungements, which have evidence for quite substantial social benefits—employment and wage gains, and even lower recidivism. Unfortunately, uptake for these kinds of initiatives is low, so they should be automatic to remove any administrative burden. If pardons (along with decriminalization, if not legalization) are too high a political hurdle, then reclassification from felony to misdemeanor should be prioritized.
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 | 8 |
| Median Survey Vote | Median Survey Confidence |
|---|---|
| Agree | 8 |
Comments
Schedule I is reserved for substances with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. It makes zero sense for marijuana to be on that list, for other drugs to be listed in a lower Schedule (e.g., methamphetamine), and for alcohol to not be listed at all. There have been no meaningful social benefits to it being listed in Schedule I, so it should not require proof of benefits from removing it. Law enforcement could maybe even boost clearance rates of more serious crimes.
Comments
I don’t expect large-scale benefits, just because there are so few people convicted of marijuana possession (or any drug possession, really) in federal court. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to trafficking, but if we’re going to pardon marijuana possession we should pardon all federal drug possession, as a start. A more impactful result of federal pardons will be to reduce sentence lengths in federal prison by eliminating criminal history points for people with past possession convictions.