-Caveat Lector-
Hi Kelly,
How to debate your brother on the legalization of marijuana?
Well, first off you can not debate anyone who has a closed mind on a
given subject. Second, you have to always tell the truth...use facts
from reputable sources that can not be disputed. Always use logic. I
have been fighting this battle for over 30 years in one way or another.
Mostly, the people I talk to fall into two major groups. First are those
who absolutely believe the propaganda from the government even in the
face of contradictory evidence from respected universities, other
governments, or even conflicting data from our own government. You can
never change their minds and it is rather useless to try. The other
major group is confused by the conflicting information and come down on
the side of caution. I never debate anyone who uses a moral arguement,
use the bible in their arguement or are against alcohol use too. These
are truly prohibitionists of anything that alters the natural state.
If your brother is open minded, as I hope he is, then a good
starting point would be to point out a few pertinent hypocracies.
1. Clinton, Bore, and George II have admitted to using marijuana. How
can we, in good conscience, accept a druggie as president?
2. No one in the pro-legalization movement is advocating drug use by
children. All are adamant that it is, like alcohol, for adults. So
arguing "for the sake of the children" is only a red herring. Keeping it
illegal puts it in the hands of children more than legalization does.
3. Far more dangerous drugs are advertised on tv every day.
4. Just as Prohibition led to the rise of organized crime in the 1930's,
the Drug War has led to the rise of vast crimminal elements.
5. After 30 years of increasingly long and harsh penalties, loss of ever
more rights and freedoms, and spending huge sums of money, most of his
team could tell him where to buy drugs.
A little history would help. Marijuana has been used for at
least 8000 years. This is shown in the archaeological record from all
over the world. The first drug laws were enacted in this country as a
way to control ethnic populations. The first federal drug laws (the
Harrison Act) were the result of purposely missleading public relations
campaigns by prohibitionists, moralists, and ethnic purity groups (chief
among them was William Jennings Bryan, the prosecutor in the Scopes
Trial) with the support of law enforcement in certain areas. The
Harrison Act did not make drugs illegal, only set out a distribution
system, with small fines for those who defied the rules. In 1936 Harry
J. Anslinger, former Assistant Commissioner of Prohibition, was picked to
head the new Federal Bureau of Narcotics. The first thing he did was add
marijuana to the Harrison Act list of dangerous drugs. He then persuaded
Dr. Ernest Fullerton Cook, chairman of the Committee on Revision of the
U.S. Pharmacopia, to expunge marijuana from the U.S. Pharmacopia they
were revising. That sealed the fate of marijuana. The rest of the
history is a long list of increasingly harsh penalties for simple
possession of marijuana, increasing loss of constitutional rights of us
all, and increasing budgets to fight the War on Drugs.
There has never, from the hearings on the original Harrison Act
to the present, been a recognized medical association that has spoken out
against marijuana. In fact, the original Marijuana Tax Act was fought
against by Dr. William Woodward (a specialist in legal medicine and a
lawyer as well as a physician) who was the representative for the
American Medical Association Board of Trustees, testified against the
Act. Marijuana was a usefull drug in treatment of a variety of
conditions and had no adverse side effects. It is interesting that all 6
Official Government Sponsored Studies on Illegal Drug Use have advocated,
at the minimum, decriminalization of marijuana. Almost every official
government study outside the U.S. has advocated the legalization of
marijuana. Many countries are currently standing up to U.S. bullying and
decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana.
Arrests for simple possesion of marijuana climbed from 104.9 per
100,000 population in 1990 to 152.1 per 100,000 in 1994. Currently drug
sentences in the federal system average 86.1 months. Only weapons (91.1
months) and violent crimes (89.9 months) receive longer sentences. In
1997 43% of all drug arrests were for marijuana, and of these, 85% were
for simple possession.
A total of 9 states have currently legalized marijuana for
medical use. Here in Oregon, the average age of the 1200 medical users
is 47. When I testified before the Governor's Panel on Chronic Pain
Management, no one could produce any verifiable evidence of any harmfull
physiological effects of marijuana use in moderation, while at the same
time many harmfull physiological effects were evident for all the other
legal pain medications. Marijuana is safer to use than aspirin.
An often effective arguement is to ask the opposition why
marijuana shoud be illegal. This will give an insight as to what they
are thinking and why.
So I guess my ten points as to why marijuana should be legal for adult
use would be:
1. Marijuana has less danger for the user than most over the counter
medications currently available. Just read the cautions on the labels.
2. Marijuana has fewer negative physiological effects than alcohol,
tobacco, caffene, chocolate, and salt.
3. The negative effects on society by maintaining the illegal status of
marijuana are vastly more numerous than the effects of legalization.
4. The prohibition of alcohol did not work, and generated more crime.
The prohibition of marijuana is even more burdensome and destructive to
the fabric of society, and has spurred an unregulated underground where
sales to monors is encouraged. Marijuana should be treated as alcohol
is.
5. From George Shultz (former U.S. Secretary of State), Kurt Smott,
(Mayor of Baltimore), and others in government, to the American Medical
Association, The Journal of the American Medical Association, New England
Journal of Medicine,and many other medical organizations, there is an
across the board call for reform of the marijuana laws.
6. The American Defence Lawyers Association, many sherriffs
associations, the ACLU, and some police unions have all called for
decriminalization of marijuana at one time or another.
7. 9 states have made marijuana legal for medical use. More states have
proposed legislation to do the same ready for the next election.
8. 43% of Alaska voters voted to legalize marijuana in the Nov, 2000
election.
9. Far more harm is done by keeping marijuana illegal than could be done
by legalization. Once a person is arrested for possession of marijuana,
they are forever barred from many jobs, student loans, military service,
etc.
10. There is no reason to keep marijuana illegal.
If he is open to it, you can give him my email address
([EMAIL PROTECTED]).
Jayson R. Jones
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A>
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