The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, the act that effectively made marijuana illegal in the US, was based on the fact that "marijuana caused violent crime and sexual excess." (Grinspoon. 139) These theories have been thoroughly discredited and proven to be unsubstantiated. If marijuana was legal crime would decrease, dealers would be driven out of the market by lower prices, and the government would benefit from the sales tax on drugs. Moreover, "Legalization would give the government more control over the purity and potency of drugs." (Grinspoon. 3)
Drugs are subjected to stereotypical generalizations in America, mostly because people are uneducated or misled by government education. Because of this most people who have not themselves experimented or understand the realities of the drug feel that someone who uses drugs is a danger to society. When in fact, drug abuse for the most part is a victimless crime only affecting the user and the user's body and therefore should be the user's choice. It should be self-evident to see how Anti-Drug laws eliminate personal responsibility and free choice, leading to government infringement on individual rights. The War on Drugs has lead to the inexcusable erosion of our civil liberties by the use of "informers and entrapment, mandatory urine testing, unwarranted search and seizures, and violations of the Posse Comitatus Act (which outlaws the use of military forces to police for civilian law enforcement) are becoming more common. It is clear that our society cannot be both drug-free and free." (Grinspoon. 142) The war on drugs is not only eroding our civil liberties but is also wasting our tax money at a rate of almost "18 billion dollars a year"(Lynch.153). Moreover, more than "300,000 people a year are arrested on marijuana charges, contributing to the clogging of our courts and overcrowding prisons." (Grinspoon. 142) All this is also costing tax payers' money on top of the 18 billion a year. The war on drugs is a war within our homes, a war between our friends and family.
From the early 1970's until present we have heard that marijuana "destroyed brain cells, caused psychoses, lowered testosterone levels ad sperm counts, led to breast development in males... caused chromosome breakage and birth defects." (Ginspoon. 139) However not one of these claims could ever be proven and more and more people have grown to resent the governments deceiving propaganda. So far, "not a single case of lung cancer, emphysema, or other significant pulmonary pathology attributable to cannabis use has been reported." (Grinspoon. 139)
Furthermore, Marijuana has many medical benefits and has been proven to help those suffering from "Chemotherapy nausea, glaucoma, chronic pain, epilepsy, migraine, and AIDS wasting syndrome." (Grinspoon 138)
Also "some people find it so useful in gaining new perspectives or seeing problems from a different vantage point that they smoke in preparation for intellectual work." (Grinspoon. 138) Clearly these people have learned to make us of altered states of consciousness. Often our greatest songs, poems, novels, and works of art were conceived under the influence of marijuana. Additionally marijuana can "enhance the appreciation of food, music, sexual activity, natural beauty, and other sensual experiences... Under the right setting it can promote emotional intimacy." (Grinspoon. 141) These were the main issues in the fight to legalize marijuana the tyranny and lies has gone on too long.
Advocates generally argue that crime would decrease under legalization; that dealers would be driven out of the market by lower prices, and the the government would benefit from the sales tax on drugs. These arguments exemplify a great lack of understanding about the nature of drug abuse. The Netherlands has often been heralded as a country where decriminalization has worked. (Voth. 144)
Marijuana users have used the cannabis plant for the cure of multitudes of medical ailments including glaucoma, insomnia, and even rubbing hash oil on their cancerous tumors. Marijuana smoke "contains double to triple the concentrations of tar, carbon monoxide, and carcinogens found in cigarette smoke" (Voth 146) but there are many ways around smoking marijuana to gain its effects such as using a vaporizer or baking it in edible goodies.
Scientists agree that marijuana's ability to play a significant role in the medical field is more evident now than ever. The use of marijuana is not harmful as the government wants you to believe but nevertheless the government sponsors scare tactics on TV using commercials such as the ones you see linking marijuana to terrorism -- are they calling the estimated 20 million pot smokers in America terrorists? The total amount of money spent by Americans on marijuana shows how big an industry it is and how much revenue can be raked in. It causes no long-term health issues and can improve the quality of life of millions of people suffering with disease. Until it is legalized, innocent people will continue to be harassed, arrested, and even thrown in jail because the government has no respect for the privacy of the citizens of this country.
Works Cited
Grinspoon, Lester. "Should Marijuana be legalized as a Medicine? Yes it's a Beneficial Drug." The World and I June 1994. Rpt. In Chemical Dependency: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. Laura K. Egendorf. New York: Greenhaven, 2003. 145-149
Lynch, Timothy. "The War on Drugs Has Failed." After Probation. 2000. Rpt. In Chemical Dependency: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. Laura K. Egendorf. New York: Greenhaven, 2003. 150-156
Voth, A. Eric. "Should Marijuana be Legalized as a Legalized as a Medicine? No it's Dangerous and Addictive." The World and I June 1994. Rpt. In Taking Sides: Drugs and Society. Ed. Raymond Goldberg. New York: Dushkin, Brown and Benchmark
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kabdulha (student)
