There is much brouhaha regarding marijuana busts with huge fields of marijuana plants being torn down. It raises the ongoing question to legalize marijuana, or let the outlaws continue to grow marijuana for a ton of cash, while cutting the second rate plant with additives, including methadone, and assorted dangerous fillers. Marijuana is much different now than in the 60’s, and highly more dangerous.
Marijuana should be a controlled substance for many reasons. The biggest reason is for purity, eliminating the harmful ingredients that selfish dealers add for a bigger return audience. With government supervision, children would not be able to get their hands on the legalized substance.
Which raises another question: Should children be allowed to smoke marijuana? Unequivocally, NO! Their brains are developing and any substance such as marijuana, alcohol, cigarettes and especially the more dangerous drugs like methadone stunt brain development.
Medical marijuana would be available for terminally sick patients without hassle from the government, and the danger medical people might experience prescribing to their patients.
The first and most basic reason that marijuana should be legal is that there is no good reason for it not to be legal. Some people ask ‘why should marijuana be legalized’?” but we should ask, “Why should marijuana be illegal?” From a philosophical point of view, individuals deserve the right to make choices for themselves. The government only has a right to limit those choices if the individual’s actions endanger someone else. This does not apply to marijuana, since the individual who chooses to use marijuana does so according to his or her own free will. The government also may have a right to limit individual actions if the actions pose a significant threat to the individual. But this argument does not logically apply to marijuana because marijuana is far less dangerous than some drugs, which are legal, such as alcohol and tobacco.
Cost: keeping marijuana illegal is expensive.
The second important reason that marijuana should be legal is that it would save our government money. In the United States, all levels of government (federal, state, and local authorities) participate in the War on Drugs. We currently spend billions of dollars every year to chase peaceful people who happen to like to get high. These people get locked up in prison and the taxpayers have to foot the bill. We have to pay for food, housing, health care, attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses to lock these people up. This is extremely expensive! We could save billions of dollars every year as a nation if we stop wasting money-locking people up for having marijuana. In addition, if marijuana were legal, the government could collect taxes on it, and would have a lot more money to pay for effective drug education programs and other important causes.
Failure: prohibition doesn’t work.
The third major reason that marijuana should be legal is because prohibition does not help the country in any way, and causes a lot of problems. There is no good evidence that prohibition decreases drug use, and there are several theories that suggest prohibition might actually increase drug use i.e. the forbidden fruit effect, and easier accessibility for youth. Consider Prohibition in the early part of the 20th century. Who gained monetarily? Alcohol consumption doubled and only a few speak-easy establishments reaped the rewards of prohibition. Telling free people they cannot do something is like putting a carrot on a stick for a horse.
One unintended effect of marijuana prohibition is that marijuana is very popular in American high schools. Why? Because it is available. You don’t have to be 21 to buy marijuana—marijuana dealers usually don’t care how old you are as long as you have money. It is actually easier for many high school students to obtain marijuana than for them to obtain alcohol, because alcohol is legal and therefore regulated to keep it away from kids. If our goal is to reduce drug consumption, then we should focus on open and honest programs to educate youth, regulation to keep drugs away from kids, and treatment programs for people with drug problems. But the current prohibition scheme does not allow such reasonable approaches to marijuana; instead we are stuck with ‘DARE’ police officers spreading lies about drugs in schools, and policies that result in jail time rather than treatment for people with drug problems. We tried prohibition with alcohol, and that failed miserably. We should be able to learn our lesson and stop repeating the same mistake.
SUMMARY: Prohibition does not work. Education and treatment are better ways to address the drug problem.
There are plenty of other reasons why marijuana should be legal. Just to name a few:
Medicinal use: Marijuana can be used as medicine because it helps to stimulate appetite and relieve nausea in cancer and AIDS patients.
Hemp: The hemp plant is a valuable natural resource. Legalizing marijuana would eliminate the confusion surrounding hemp and allow us to take advantage of hemp’s agricultural and industrial uses.
Religious Use: Some religions instruct their followers to use marijuana. Just like Christianity and Judaism instruct their followers to drink wine on certain occasions, Hindus, Buddhists, Rastafarians, and members of other religions use marijuana as part of their spiritual and religious ceremonies. These people deserve the freedom to practice their religion as they see fit. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that the government cannot ‘prohibit the free exercise’ of religion, and so marijuana should be legal.
The Eight Most Absurd Excuses for Trying to Defeat Legal Pot
1. The federal government will pull all of its contracts with California businesses because they won’t be able to drug test employees!
2. Legalizing marijuana for healthy people will end medical marijuana for sick people!
3. Legalizing marijuana will never raise any money because the social costs would outweigh any fiscal benefits… look at alcohol and tobacco!
4. Big Tobacco will buy up great huge tracts of land in Northern California and mass produce lousy joints pumped full of toxic addictive chemicals!
5. Today’s pot is fourteen times more powerful than Sixties weed and will lead to more crack babies!
6. People who smoke marijuana in the same apartment building as a child will be arrested! (Not that your landlord will let you grow pot anyway.)
7. Legally homegrown marijuana will lead to outbreaks of toxic deadly molds!
8. Workers smoking marijuana on the job would overrun workplaces!
Should Marijuana be legalized under any Circumstances?
In a Nutshell
Yes:
- The drug generally isn’t more harmful than alcohol or tobacco if used in moderation.
- Limiting the use of the drug intrudes on personal freedom.
- Legalization would mean a lower price; thus, related crimes (like theft) would be reduced.
- There are medical benefits such as those for cancer patients.
- Street justice related to drug disputes would be reduced.
- Legalizing marijuana could be a source of additional tax revenues.
- Police and court resources would be freed up for more serious crimes.
- Drug dealers (including some terrorists) would lose most or all of their business.
- The FDA or others could regulate the quality and safety of drugs.
- Like sex, alcohol, or cigarettes, marijuana is one of life’s little pleasures for some people.
- Drug busts often trap young people in a flawed system that turns them into lifelong criminal
Maybe:
A caveat from a friend. . . who said that smoking a great deal of marijuana has a definite affect on short term memory–not long term, just short-term. While in college, the friend said she could not grasp new things being taught like chemistry, biology, etc. Who knows, maybe it was the subjects?
NO:
- Marijuana is often used as a stepping-stone drug, leading to heroin, cocaine, or other harder drugs.
- Stoned driving and other dangers would be increased.
- Some consider use of the drug as morally wrong.
- Legalization would increase the chances of the drug falling into the hands of kids.
- Because of drug-related arrests, people who have committed or are likely to commit more serious crimes can be taken off the streets.
- Physical damage would be done to users that abuse the drug. More widespread use would increase the dangers of secondhand smoke-damage to bystanders.
Core Question
Should marijuana be a medical option? The below are pro and con options from several sites. I am sure you could plug in any disease or condition for an astute answer.
American Medical Association (AMA)
Marinol v. Medical Marijuana
- AIDS (HIV) & AIDS Wasting
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Arthritis
- Asthma / Breathing Disorders
- Crohn’s / Gastrointestinal Disorders
- Epilepsy / Seizures
- Glaucoma
- Hepatitis C
- Migraines
- Multiple Sclerosis / Muscle Spasms
- Nausea / Chemotherapy
- Pain / Analgesia
- Psychological Conditions
- Tourette’s Syndrome
- Terminally Ill patients are outstanding people for using marijuana
anytime it is necessary or just when they want a little more pleasure out of the life left. There is no “con” only “pro” at this level. NM
