Weapons of Mass Destruction: Marijuana

Currently, people who are found with even a bit of marijuana could be fined up to $2500 and could receive jail time. On March 5^th, a bill calling for lighter sentencing of those carrying less than .25 ounces of marijuana will be voted on by the House of Criminal Justice (Long). This makes much more sense because jails and policing are meant "to serve and to protect." For people who clearly are not intending on using that twamp to inebriate and rape or murder an unsuspecting victim, why should the threat of jail even be hanging over their shoulders? Even if the effects of marijuana are considered to be harmful to the smoker, this same reasoning could bring tattoos, piercings, and other forms of self-mutilation to a criminal level. People shouldn't be complacent over the iron fist US law has on weed.

A recent article found in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence focused on the withdrawal symptoms of marijuana, as serious as "irritability, anxiety, and sleep problems" as substantiated by the twelve people who served as the research sample (Norton). This sheds light upon the new lows people have reached in trying to stigmatize marijuana. With such feeble withdrawal claims, and even more ludicrous charges of dangerous effects, no valid explanation is given as to why marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 drug. Well, for every con, there is a pro, as evidenced by the Top 10 Pot Studies Government Wished It Never Funded, which involves twin studies and the myth that weed is a gateway drug.

Because of the flip-flopping legality of weed-prescriptions, those who sought its medicinal benefits during the early 90's had to resort to seedier modes of attainment, putting them at even more risk. Though states like Arizona and California have passed propositions allowing for the medical use of marijuana, the war on marijuana marches on through Bush and Clinton's administration, who went as far as to threaten loss of prescription-writing privileges, Medicare, and Medicaid (CNN).

The medical field is merely one arena that the anti-drug administration has cornered. The White House got first dibs on scripts for prime time, and Clinton made no hush about it; nor did newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post, who gave a smug nod of front-page approval of Bill Clinton's ingenious way of saving our kids (Fiona). From subliminal to propaganja, the White House demonstrates astounding commitment to the War on Drugs. An influx of government-sponsored commercials in 2006 involved scenarios of death and destruction of young potheads. Magazines Seventeen, Parade, Family Circle, USA Weekend, and a few others have been bartering with the government's Office of National Drug Control Policy for credits in advertising contracts (Forbes). This has raised concerns over governmental influence in magazine output altogether.

10 commercials, 10 primetime scripts, 10 nationally syndicated magazine deals: millions in advertising costs. When the government has this type of money to spare, one wonders why messages about the health risks of alcohol and smoking take second stage. Nevermind preventative measures, what steps are being taken by the government to help impoverished people who live below a poverty line that hasn't been adjusted since the 50's?
References

Cable News Network, Inc. (1997). Medicinal marijuana: the struggle for legalization.

Health. (no. 9702, 19-22).

DrQuickBeam. (2006, Sept 2). Top 10 Pot Studies Government Wished It Had Never

Funded. Wordpress,Retrieved February 24, 2008 from http://www.nerdshit.com/wordpress/2006/09/02/top-10-pot-studies-government-wished-it-had-never-funded/

Forbes, D. (2000, Mar 31). The drug war gravy train: How the White House rewarded US

News, Seventeen, and other magazines for publishing anti-drug articles.

Salon News, 1, 4-7. Retrieved February 24, 2008 from

http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2000/03/31/magazines/index.html

Long, T. (2008, Feb 24). Bill would decriminalize marijuana. Boston Globe, p.A1.

Morgan, F. (2000, Jan 5). White House defends TV drug-ad deal. Salon News, 1, 9-11.

Retrieved February 24, 2008 from

http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2000/01/15/drug_coverage/index.html

Norton, A. (2008, Jan) Marijuana withdrawal rivals that of nicotine. Drug and Alcohol

Dependence, p. 22.