Mark Kleiman
Mark Albert Robert Kleiman (May 18, 1951 – July 21, 2019[1]) was an American professor, author, and blogger who dealt with issues of drug and criminal justice policy.
A professor of public policy for many years at
Kleiman advised local, state, national, and international governmental bodies on crime control and drug policy. He founded and directed BOTEC Analysis LLC, a consultancy that focuses on crime, drug policy, and urban development. BOTEC advised the State of Washington and the government of Canada as they sought to create legal adult-use cannabis markets. It also established a niche expertise in illicit tobacco markets, work for which it has received funding from PMI Impact and Cornerstone Research.[3]
Early life
Born in
Academic career
Kleiman served for 18 years as a professor of public policy at the
Kleiman was an emeritus professor at UCLA, a professor of public policy at New York University from 2015 until his death, and an adjunct scholar at the
Author
In 1989, Kleiman wrote Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control, in which he attacked the conventional reasoning of national drug enforcement and the logic behind interpretations of the economics of drug markets. The book included a critique of the "Just Say No" rhetoric of the Reagan and Bush administrations, and suggested an alternative policy of "grudging toleration" of drug use.
In 1993, Kleiman wrote Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results, where, he argued that drug enforcement agencies should view arrest and incarceration of offenders as a loss not a win. He maintained that by concentrating resources on ensuring certain arrest for the worst offenders rather than a small risk of arrest for all, agencies could create environments with less drug abuse, less incarceration, and safer streets.
In 2010, Kleiman wrote When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment.
In 2011, Kleiman co-wrote Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken. That year, Kleiman also co-edited Encyclopedia of Drug Policy with James Hawdon.
Kleiman's book Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know co-written with Jonathan Caulkins, Angela Hawken, and Beau Kilmer, was published in 2012. The book is written in question-and-answer format, covering over 100 questions relating to marijuana.
Advising roles
Kleiman and his firm, Botec Analysis, were selected to advise
Other activities
Kleiman was the organizer of a group blog, The Reality-Based Community. His writing also appeared on CNN, The American Prospect, Foreign Affairs, and Washington Monthly.
During an interview with PBS Frontline Kleiman famously claimed that "D.A.R.E. is a wonderful tool for police-community relations, particularly, in poor neighborhoods," though he added, "What D.A.R.E. is not, is a complete drug prevention program. In fact, the evaluations have been pretty, uniformly discouraging."[6]
Kleiman was a legislative aide to Congressman
Death
Kleiman died July 21, 2019, of complications from a kidney transplant.[1]
References
- ^ a b Kelly, Kleiman. "I am sad to report that my brother @MarkARKleiman died this afternoon of complications of a kidney transplant. If moved to honor him, please donate to the NYU Transplant Institute, the ACLU, or any Democratic candidate. There will be no funeral". Twitter.
- ^ Mark Sherman (September 26, 2005). "Crime Rate Remains at 2003 Level, Study Says". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
- ^ "Tobacco Policy | BOTEC Analysis". botecanalysis.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-12.
- ^ Ellison, Jake (March 19, 2013). "Washington's new marijuana guru: Daunting challenge, but I-502 system can work". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
- ^ "7 Things That Could Totally Kill Weed Legalization's Buzz". Huffington Post. 18 April 2014.
- ^ "D.a.r.e. - Excerpts Of Interview With Mark Kleiman | Busted - America's War On Marijuana | FRONTLINE | PBS". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
External links
- Drug policy discussion with PBS Frontline
- The Reality-Based Community, archived from the original:The Reality-Based Community - Kleiman's blog