By Eric Saulnier, Opinion Editor Source: The Collegian Ultimately, laws exist for the welfare of the citizens they protect. Within law and life in general, determining good and bad, right and wrong requires careful examination of specific situations. Certain actions are right in one context, but wrong in another. I will attempt here to try and articulate what I believe is a sound argument for the legalization of marijuana. I do not use this substance; my motivation for believing in its legalization does not stem from a desire to make my own life easier. My belief in marijuana's legalization is the conclusion I reach after attempting to honestly examine the question of marijuana's use from a broad sociological context. I believe that when considering a law's appropriateness it is necessary to look at the full situation and resist the temptation to pass immediate judgment. In the case of marijuana, upon first examining the case for its legalization one might conclude that no, marijuana should not be legalized because it does harm to users and those around them. However, I believe that after examining the consequences of outlawing pot, the law itself ends up creating more harm than if pot were legal. Marijuana is subject to fairly strict punishments, including jail time and fines for possession with increased punishment for repeated offenses. The dealing of marijuana receives much harsher punishment than the drug's mere use. The effects of these punishments, while reducing marijuana's use (though arguably not by very much) and thus its ill-effects, create more harm than the original problem. To adequately regulate marijuana's use, the government must devote large sums of money and other resources, while also establishing firm punishments for violators. Both the resources allocated towards marijuana's prevention and the punishments exacted on users create more harm than if the drug was left legal. Marijuana is often termed a “gate-way drug,†meaning that once individuals use marijuana they are more likely to try other more harmful substances. Besides indirectly encouraging further drug use, marijuana sometimes directly causes individuals to unwittingly use other drugs: sometimes marijuana is laced. If marijuana was legalized, its form, potency, and purity could be monitored, reducing the risk of direct exposure to a different drug. Also, the legalization of marijuana would allow the drug to be taxed, which would generate revenue that could enhance society in other ways. The legalization of marijuana would actually generate money. Taxes placed on other “sin goods†such as alcoholic bever-ages and tobacco products often increase the amount of money available to schools, public works, education on drug use, etc. Fighting marijuana through its illegalization on the other hand, drains massive amounts of funds that could be other-wise applied. Governmental attempts to enforce marijuana's illegality are largely unsuccessful. The drug is still widely used and relatively easily available. Arguably, its usage might not increase in a dramatic way if marijuana were made a legally traded product. Much of the money used to prevent marijuana's use comes from the need to incarcerate offenders. The costs of housing prisoners are significant and when one takes into account the money lost to their families/communities by their absence, the figure grows even larger. Many, though certainly not all, dealers come from poorer communities. Their income may very well prove essential to the economic well-being of other people. By removing them from the community for selling marijuana, the people they support suffer a huge loss. Upon returning from prison, former dealers find acquiring any sort of a halfway decent job almost impossible: drug offenders aren't exactly the people successful businesses like to hire. So, the individual will likely sell marijuana again, or perhaps undertake something even worse, placing them once again in prison. This process eventually becomes a cycle with no apparent escape that owns that individuals life. The system of punishment is unfair because it fails to provide people with a viable opportunity for change. Punishing someone should serve a clear and achievable purpose. We must ask ourselves if our current punishments for marijuana's usage are appropriate and effective. I believe that the results of punishments for weed usage probably do more to insure that individual will use weed again than persuade them to stop. Marijuana is a problem, but so alcohol and tobacco. What is so different about weed that it is forbidden and the other two drugs are legal? Marijuana does cause health problems, but so do many activities that the government leaves up to personal discretion. The most effective way to combat marijuana would be to instill educational systems and to better regulate the drug by its legalization. The penalties exacted on violators of the marijuana law do more harm than good. They condemn users to a troubled life and may do the same to innocent bystanders. Complete Title: Legalize Marijuana, But Not So I Can Smoke It. No Really, I'm Serious! Source: The Collegian (OK) Author: Eric Saulnier, Opinion Editor Published: February 01, 2005 Copyright: 2005, The Collegian Contact: collegian@utulsa.edu Website: http://www.utulsa.edu/collegian/
the taxes could be used to help the debt that will be payed out of our SS fund. But our Gov. thinks that alcohol and tobbaco are ok when they kill more people per year then marijuana ever has. So as soon as washington stops to think realisticlly they could have a solution to one of the biggest problems to face us today. plus us stoners would finely stick it to the man.
By S. Kyle Pauly Source: Badger Herald Wisconsin -- Madison has seen a lot in its time: crazy Halloween nights, champion football teams, protests up the wazoo, the Mifflin block party and homeless by the hundreds. The list could continue infinitely, but I bet one thing you'd thought it would never see was a conservative lobbying for the legalization of marijuana. What has the world come to? While I've been repeatedly reminded by liberals on campus of how stupid and completely incompetent my viewpoints are, I realize here I'll be bashed from both sides. However, I honestly feel this is an issue which our government has been idle on for far too long, so I'm going to let my ego take a hit. For the record, I don't smoke, so this isn't coming your way because I want an easier time while getting high. I'm sure we've all heard the reports: marijuana is no more detrimental than cigarettes or alcohol; in fact it is not even addictive. Yet beyond the glaring hypocrisy of its illegality in comparison to cigarettes and alcohol, marijuana could not only let the stoners peacefully get high, it could also be of service to society. Yes, that's correct - legalizing marijuana could improve our society. Doctors have long been arguing for the allowance of marijuana, at least in a medical setting, as it has been shown to reduce the pain associated with numerous diseases as well as lessening the nausea associated with chemotherapy. Beyond the hospital, marijuana could serve as a pot of gold for our nation's debt. Californians seem to really enjoy their Mary Jane, and not wanting to have to hide their “criminal†ways there has been the greatest push in California for the legalization of marijuana. Yet, behind the dreadlocks, marijuana-leaf patches and all other stereotypical markings stands some pretty compelling data. It was found that legalizing marijuana would save “over $156 million in law enforcement costs for arrest, prosecution, trial and imprisonment of marijuana offenders.†Also taxing marijuana at $1 per joint and marketing it in a way very similar to alcohol could bring in between $8 and $13 billion per year, according to a report by the State Office of Narcotics and Drug Abuse to the California Legislature. Furthermore, surely the government can't prohibit marijuana solely on the basis of safety. Cigarettes kill 440,000 Americans every year, and we are all well aware of the dangers of alcohol. If it were legalized, strict laws would have to be enforced, just as with alcohol and cigarettes. Plenty of people now are lighting up and very rarely do you hear of problems created by these light-headed folk. While many stereotypes surround the use of marijuana, there are plenty of people who smoke regularly and don't fit into such simple characterizations. Walk down State Street on any given day and you'll likely smell that distinct aroma. There are numerous law-breaking citizens in Madison who should be jailed, fined or both according to current laws, but many of these people are productive members of society. They're students, doctors, legislators and - dare I even suggest it - policemen. They come from all walks of life and, in the eyes of our government, are criminals. It is time to legalize marijuana. The prospective economic gain is too great to pass up. Why not let Walgreens employees monitor the distribution and content of marijuana instead of dealers on street corners? Not only would the economy benefit, but the risk associated with laced marijuana would subside. Will legalizing marijuana really change the dynamics of our country? No. The liberals will all keep doing what they're doing, anyway. And who knows? Maybe a few conservatives could light up, and we could all just get along. S. Kyle Pauly -- spauly@badgerherald.com -- is a pre-med sophomore majoring in biology. Newshawk: Mayan Source: Badger Herald (Edu, Madison, WI) Author: S. Kyle Pauly Published: Friday, April 8, 2005 Copyright: 2005 Badger Herald Contact: editor@badgerherald.com Website: http://www.badgerherald.com/ Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20480.shtml