| Every year, countless non-violent, normal, honest citizens are thrown in prison for minding their own business - and smoking and age old herb. They are casualties of our nations's despereate "War on Drugs", Prisoners of War so to speak. Marijuana, America's third most popularly used non-medical drug, is the focus of huge controversy all over the world and especially so here in the United States. For many people, the case on marijuana is open and shut. "Drugs are bad, that is why they are illegal, keep then illegal." But people need to ask themselves just how bad marijuana is. Reasons behind such strict legislation of marijuana may be weaker and dumber than once thought. The use of marijuana is a non-violent personal choice that may even treat illnesses. Yet the stubbornness of some of this country's citizens and almost all of its politicians blind them from these and other reasons why the war on drugs is wrong. Marijuana should be legalized and regulated for recreational use and especially medical use. |
| The government spends an average of 44 billion dollars every year on the drug war. Of that 44 billion, 8.6 billion dollars are spent keeping people convicted of drug crimes in jail(O'Rourke 5). Almost nine billion dollars - that represents a lot of people who's lives have been taken away from them for not hurting anyone except maybe themselves. They are not the only ones paying though; taxpayers are giving up billions of dollars a year to the drug war. |
| Americans need to ask themselves if all their money is really needed, or if it is just going to waste. Governor Gary Johnson of New Mexico stated, "Last year, 450,000 people died from smoking cigarettes. Alcohol killed 150,000 people, and another 100,000 died from legal prescription drugs. How many people died last year from the use of marijuana? Few, if any,"( Coulter 1). It is true that there is an extremely low number of reported cases in which marijuana was a cause of someone's death. So if marijuana doesn't kill, the government should not keep insisting on spending so much of our money against it. |
| In 1996, California passed Proposition 215 and it became law. Proposition 215 states that marijuana can be used for medical purposes with a doctor's referral. This was a landmark event, marking the first law allowing marijuana use. Since then, almost all other states have either proposed and/or passed laws concerning the use of marijuana for medical reasons. However, in reality none of these laws makes smoking for any reason legal at all. That is because federal law still states that it is 100% illegal to possess or smoke marijuana in any way, shape or form, for any reason. In this country, if someone is convicted on charges of marijuana, most of the time they face a ten year prison sentence. Therefore, when a cancer patient in California lights up a joint to ease the pain and nausea caused by his chemotherapy, under federal law he could be thrown in jail, and many just like him already have. |
| In other countries though, laws concerning marijuana are more tolerant. And statistics show, they have less crime, prostitution and addicts. It was proven in Switzerland that because of their government-run addict treatment programs and education programs along with the regulation of drugs, there were fewer health problems, less unemployment, and less social security reliance than there was during strict legislation. And of course, there were less people in jail. In the Netherlands, drug education along with legalized regulation brought crime down tremendously. Their incarceration rate is 36 people in jail for every 100,000 people. America, on the other hand, has the highest incarceration rate in the world. One out of every 150 people serves some kind of prison sentence in America every year ( Rosevear 5). That is a very astonishing and scary number when thought about. Within the last twenty years, the crackdown on drugs in the United States caused a three-fold increase in the number of prison inmates - 1.8 million people (Carter 2). With all that money being spent to keep all those people in jail, it is no wonder where all the taxpayers' money is wasted. The 8.6 billion dollars can be used elsewhere. |
| Smoking marijuana is a victimless crime. Many people commit this crime alone, in their own house. Using marijuana is a personal choice and effects no one but the user. When a next door neighbor lights up a joint, everyone on the block is not in danger. Americans should not be punished for taking part in a mostly solitary activity within their own home. Smoking responsibly is not a danger to society. Notice the word "responsibly" there. If someone decides to smoke marijuana and then goes driving whereupon he crashes into a car of six innocent people, killing them, that is not being responsible. Do not argue that keeping marijuana illegal will prevent that, it is too late. Thousands of people are already killed each year by drunk drivers. But alcohol is legal. That is because of all the other more intelligent people who enjoy it without going overboard or doing something stupid. The same holds true for marijuana smokers. |
| While on the subject, many argue that marijuana impairs a person's judgement more than alcohol and is more harmful than tobacco. The truth is, they are wrong. One or two beers will not make someone drunk, depending on their size of course. The same also goes for marijuana. A responsible smoker who merely wants to 'mellow out' a little will only smoke enough to get there. As for health risks, Australian doctor Wendell J. Rosevear who works with alcohol and drug recovery programs says that alcohol and tobacco are much worse than other drugs. "In terms of individual health, alcohol and tobacco are more toxic to the body than pure heroin,"(Rosevear 3). |
| But heroin is a different story, and obviously much more damaging than marijuana. Most opponents of "drug" legalizaion worry that heroin, crack, and other drugs would also be legalized, but this is untrue. There are apparent differences in potency and effect from one drug to another. Right now, the issue is marijuana, a "soft drug", because it's effects are different than that of other "hard drugs" like heroin. As journalist P.J. O'Rourke states, "As for legalization, each drug should be judged on it's own merit,"(O'Rourke 6). For those who may be unclear on this, consider the difference between a pocket knife and a cannon... |