The Marijuana Debacle

The debate over legalizing Marijuana (Cannabis sativa) is one of the more controversial and lingering debates to exist. We know that the herb has been used as medicine for thousands of years in many countries all the way back to 2700 BC China. It is my opinion that the benefits to legalizing far outweighs its potential abuse.

In today’s time where everyone is fighting for liberty, I think this is one of the more important factor to legalizing Marijuana, everyone should have a right to decide for themselves, just like smoking cigarettes.It costs more to keep marijuana illegal and to keep up the constant fight. If we look at our jails, there are more people in jail for marijuana possession and use then there are real criminals and we have to pay for housing, food, medical care, attorney fees, court costs and other expenses to lock these people up. In retrospect, if was to be legalized, the Government would collect taxes from it and have a lot more money to invest in effectively fight crime, pay for drug education programs and other much-needed programs and important causes. The fight against drugs really serves the interests of politicians and their financial backers in some way.

We all know that prohibition simply does not work, people can and will find ways to get their hands on marijuana. One problem that comes to the forefront is that age is not a factor when selling marijuana and there are many users that are in high school. The seller does not care if you are not 21 as long as you have money. In all reality, it is easier for a youth to get their hands on marijuana that on alcohol or cigarettes because they are legal and regulated. The price of the final product increases to abnormally high values because of the black market status, which together with the powerful effects of drug addiction causes users to commit crimes in order to fund their addiction.

By providing legal supplies of currently illegal drugs the price will fall, leading to a collapse in the illegal drug industry, and a reduction in crimes committed by both drug suppliers and users. Marijuana’s legalization would simplify the development of hemp as a valuable and diverse agricultural crop including its development as a new bio-fuel to reduce carbon emissions. The reasons used to keep marijuana illegal are mainly based on lies and disinformation. Justification of marijuana’s illegality increasingly requires distortions and selective uses of the scientific record, causing harm to the credibility of teachers, law enforcement officials, and scientists throughout the country.

Many claims of marijuana’s danger are based on old 20th century prejudices that originated in a time when science was uncertain how marijuana produced its characteristic effects. Since the cannabinoid receptor system was discovered in the late 1980s these hysterical concerns about marijuana’s dangers have not been confirmed with modern research.

Marijuana is not a lethal drug and is safer than alcohol. It is established scientific fact that marijuana is not toxic to humans; marijuana overdoses are nearly impossible, and marijuana is not nearly as addictive as alcohol or tobacco. Many people use marijuana because they have made an informed decision that it is good for them, especially those suffering from a variety of serious ailments. Marijuana provides relief from pain, nausea, spasticity, and other symptoms for many individuals who have not been treated successfully with conventional medications.

The ironic part of this debate is that both sides of the controversy are arguing for essentially the same thing: alleviation of the drug problem tho their methods are opposed.

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5 thoughts on “The Marijuana Debacle”

I completely agree. Marijuana should be legal. If not completely legal, anything 1 oz. or under should be completely legal. The problem is that keeping marijuana illegal provides grease for the Machine. It provides jobs, and not just a few, but thousands. From the lawyers, bailiffs, court clerks to the outside prison food service, uniform suppliers, probation oficers, etc. etc. the list goes on. It is just one huge Machine with no stopping it in sight. Personally, I think that the US should adopt a harm-reduction stance on drugs: only punishing the dealers, and providing rehabilitation services for addicts that chose to get clean. Portugal has had great success with their program since it’s implementation.
Interestingly, I wonder if Belize would also reduce the criminal laws associated with marijuana if the US chose to make it legal? Or decriminalize it across the board? Sometimes I think the only reason BElize keeps their laws in place is to appease the US since they get a fair amount of aid etc. from the US.