Why Marijuana Should Not Be Legalized
Up in Smoke
As more and more baby boomers are coming of age, the cry for legalization of not just marijuana but all outlawed controlled substances has become louder. recently In an article published by the Los Angeles Times, Norm Stamper, a recently retired chief of police in Seattle Washington, said due to the billions of dollars wasted on the war against drugs, and the tens of thousands of people incarcerated for drug offenses in our prison system, these drugs should be legalized. His idea is to legalize it, charge taxes for it, and regulate it, not unlike a state liquor store. While I am sure that this right would be seriously abused, in time the abuse might taper off and we might possibly have a drastic reduction in both violent crime and theft.
I am diametrically opposed to this for several reasons. First, for several years we have been hearing what cigarette companies have been doing to their product, the addition of nearly lethal chemicals to tobacco has cost millions of people their very livelihood. I am not so jaded to believe that the tobacco companies once given the green light to commence growing operations wouldn't conduct business any differently with marijuana than they have with tobacco.
I am in agreement that smoking marijuana can, and does cause an increased likelihood that young adults might try harder drugs. But is this due to our social structure where all people that smoke marijuana are identified with all the other drug users, putting them higher at risk through interaction with these people. I also agree that marijuana can cause serious motivational problems and can be an impediment to learning capabilities. I however cannot for any reason think of a redeeming value for the recreational use of crack cocaine, meth amphetamine, or heroin. The addictive nature of these drugs being both chronicled and substantiated, have shown that serious medical problems and eventual death is in store for these users. Not to mention open access to these drugs would create tens of thousands of new addicts. Health providers would subsidize the costs of these additional addicts onto the consumer. While in a few years the in-house treatment boom might cause a rise in employment if this legalization ever occurs, the social costs would outweigh this benefit.
What should happen is a decriminalization of marijuana, which would leave enough control to local and federal governments to go after those that pose a threat instead of the individual casual consumer. Holland and British Columbia have decriminalized marijuana with no harsh effects. Millions are attracted to Amsterdam yearly in search of legal hashish bars; Vancouver's gas lamp district has become a Mecca for thousands in search of super-pot bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenues for the Canadian government.
The billions of dollars wasted on incarcerating tens of thousands of people for simple possession could be spent on standardizing healthcare in America. The billions of dollars spent on adjudicating these charges could be spent on eradicating our need for fossil fuels. Perhaps some of these funds could be used to address our deplorable public school systems, cure cancer or eliminate hunger in the world. Not being a proponent of legalization all I can say is I wouldn't mind having to pay a stupidity fee if I was stupid enough to get caught smoking marijuana in public, but me being no more credible than the hundreds of other people that have championed this cause, I doubt the government will listen to me.
Published by James Vaughn
I am a 46 year old male living in the pacific northwest. I am opposed to the occupation of Iraq and the Bush administrations application of policy. View profile
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311 Comments
Post a Commentmarijuana is good lol i say legalize the stuff and get it done with its just a matter of time before they legalize it anyways.
I think marijuana should only be legalized for medical purposes, not for smoking for fun. And the kids who just take one puff of marijuana should not be imprisoned, just heavily fined. But marijuana alone will probably not solve our debt. It would take millions of pot smokers, and heavier tax than it will be to pay off our debts. And do you really think it will stop the cartels? Heck, they'll start fighting for meth and crack, and all of you stoners are going to be voting for it like now! And please, could all of you who keep saying "smoke it, or you're gay!" just stop and say something USEFUL! Really, there's more to life than pot!
PEOPLE WHO THINK WEED IS ADDICTIVE GOT IT ALL WRONG!!!!!! its true most teens are in rehab for weed. do you want to know why? ill tell you, if you got caught smoking the flower (marry jane) you will be givin a choice. Jail or Rehab.OF COURSE THERE GOING TO PICK REHAB.
guitalik them
you are soooooooo gay
Wow, actually legalizing bud would be bomb! But really thinking about it crime rates wouldn't go down only because they'd be gettin' robbed w the dank they got in the store. and its not like it would be totally legalized there would have to be an age limit just like buying alcohol or cigs. and highly priced then it is now! which is gay, but thats all i gotta say. (:
Legalizing Marijuana WILL lower crime rates and take out drug dealers. Some people are so ignorant these days that they fail to realize how death rates and crime rose when mafias and bootleggers were formed during the prohibition of alcohol.
1:marijuana is not worse than cigarettes. cigarettes kill hundreds of thousands of people every year. Marijuana death toll? ZERO. sure, someone got too high and rode their buic off the road, but not from direct effects.
2: whatever idiot says most dealers dont deal pot, your retarded or just inexperienced. at least in the Pacific NW. every dealer pretty much has pot as a base product and then other things.
3: WHAT does pot have to do with living? youve obviously never tried you judgemental shitstick. it shouldnt make your life, but it should add to it. who cares if you kill a few braincells? you kill brain cells every time you hold your breath. even if you are massively stupid, doesnt matter as long as your happy. besides it wont make you as stupid as hard drugs.
Here is the sad truth- People with cancer, glaucoma, and patients with extreme pain rely on marijuana heavily. WHY? (Im sure this is all stuff you have heard before) Marijuana helps extremely with nausea, it also relaxes pain to an extent you barely notice, it also causes you to feel hunger which helps people with eating disorders or cancer patients undergoing kemo with no appetite! SO TO THE POINT these patients relying on marijuana to help them just get out of bed every day are relying on drug dealers to get their medicine. Is that really safe. I live in oregon where it is legal for these patients but they must grow it themselves. Not everyone has the time or money to grow their own plants because it can be very costly. So they are relying on street drug dealers to get something they truly need.
Argument 2- What you people dont understand is that even though marijuana is illegal there is still a high demand for it. And how is this demand met DRUG DEALERS so yes once marijuana wi
..And what does livin' have to do with smoking marijuana? I can tell you've killed a few brain cells by your lack of intelligence. If you are that pathetic of a person that you need drugs to "live" your life, I feel sorry for you. That's the most pathetic thing I have EVER heard.