It may be time to legalize marijuana
By CURTIS PENFOLD/ VOICE CORRESPONDENT
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
Posted Mar 09, 2009 @ 11:54 PM
What do President Barack Obama, Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps and
musician John Lennon all have in common?
They’ve all smoked pot.
An anti-drug speaker once told a group of students that if we smoke pot, we
won’t get anywhere. This speaker must not have been aware of these influential
men. Any facts she had to show the evils of marijuana were made void by that
statement.
I do not support the smoking of marijuana. Studies have shown it to be harmful
to the lungs and the brain. But the same effects can be found with tobacco and
alcohol, which are legal.
When 98 million Americans over age 12 have tried marijuana, according to the
National Institute on Drug Abuse, maybe we need to reconsider the most popular
illicit drug in America.
Those who would not like to legalize marijuana may argue that we can’t legalize
every deviant behavior simply because many individuals do it.
This was the same thinking that fueled prohibition in the early 20th century.
Many people supported prohibition, but it failed miserably and created many
problems that still affect America today. The largest of these problems was the
growth of criminal organizations. Huge numbers of common people were willing to
support these criminal organizations by buying alcohol.
Today, marijuana brings in more than $2 billion for the economy of Colombia.
Most of the marijuana that comes into the United States is grown in Colombia,
Mexico or Canada, and much of the trade is overseen by crime lords and
distributed by street gangs. If marijuana were legalized today, all these crime
lords and street gangs would lose their biggest investments, thus making the
production of heroin and cocaine more difficult.
While we’re on the topic of heroin and cocaine, I do want to mention what a
devastating effect these drugs have on people. Those are drugs that can lead
quickly to the downfall of a society.
We need to put as many efforts as we can into getting these drugs out of our
country.
And yet, so much of our law enforcement is wasted on punishing pot users.
Sixty-five percent of pot-related arrests involve only possession, according to
cannabisstatistics.com. Should Michael Phelps be arrested for doing what 98
million Americans have done before?
Sometimes, marijuana is called a gateway drug. Nearly 50 percent of all high
school seniors have tried marijuana, according to cannabisstatistics.com, and
those who use marijuana are much more likely to use harder drugs. The reason is
simple: When so many people participate
in an illegal action with very few consequences, it makes them question the
purpose of law. They are much more willing to participate in illegal behavior.
The police have bigger fish to fry than pot users.
If marijuana becomes legal, we can tax sales of the drug. We also can make its
production safer, especially since marijuana is 10 to 15 times more potent than
it was in the 1960s.
If we legalize marijuana, at least we know that if a person buys it, he or she
is not funding crime. And let me tell you, a lot of people are buying it.
One of those who once used it now holds the most important position in America.
Curtis Penfold is a senior at Auburn High School.
Comments:
You make a lot of sense. Considering most all the boomers running this country
have smoked it, maybe marijuana has a chance of being legalized. It is a
powerful healing herb, reputed to be an ingredient in the anointing oil in the
Bible (kanna-bosem). It relieves many health problems, such as seizures, pain,
nausea, asthma (yes, even smoking it), no appetite, and many more. Most people
do not get addicted and immediately start stealing or smoking crack. The worst
thing that can happen to a pot smoker is that they are busted. This breaks up
families and reduces people to poverty, all for a moralistic judgment that
alcohol is good and marijuana is bad.
I grew up in a home where alcohol and marijuana were present. I can tell you
that with my parents, alcohol was by far a greater poison and hindrance to a
functioning family life. After the alcohol was gone, the family functions fine
with marijuana only present. I can tell you, alcohol is nearly pure evil for
some people. However, I and many other people drink alcohol occasionally in
moderation with no ill effects.
Put the money we spend in marijuana prosecution into marijuana cultivation. Tax
the sales, and our country will have a lot more revenue to work with. Our
country is all about punishment, but we no longer have the economic means to
punish people. The sooner we realize this, the better. We have to face facts,
and decades of marijuana control and punishment simply do not work. Kids who go
through DARE are more likely to smoke pot than kids who don't.
