Unfounded concerns

Legalizing marijuana would solve problems

Making marijuana illegal is a hypocritical denunciation when alcohol and nicotine are termed as legal. Marijuana has not been confirmed to be physically addictive, unlike nicotine, alcohol and even caffeine, nor has it been proven to have any long-term maleficent effects. The National Institute for Drug Abuse released a circular in 1996 which states that "There is little evidence that the drug (marijuana) is physically addicting ... There is nothing in marijuana itself that causes people to use other drugs ... No definitive neurological study of humans has turned up evidence of marijuana-related permanent brain damage ... There is no direct evidence that marijuana causes cancer in humans."

This government publication disproves the multitude of misdirected claims which term marijuana as a "gateway drug," recruiting users to harder drugs. There has never been a reported case of a fatal marijuana overdose. In fact, the results of marijuana use are often comparable to those of alcohol, though less harmful than inordinate, long-term alcohol consumption.

Marijuana has even been ascertained to provide medicinal benefits. It has been used as a tranquilizer for cancer and AIDS patients and to assuage intraocular tension in glaucoma patients, as well as for diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, paraplegia, asthma and quadriplegia. In a nationwide survey of cancer therapists in 1995, about 50 percent reported they would prescribe marijuana if it were legal, while 44 percent admitted they had recommended marijuana to patients. Francis Young, the administrative judge for the Drug Enforcement Agency, said, "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man." Sadly, state laws ignore this advantageous element of the substance, and the drug is even banned from use in medicinal purposes.

The marijuana legalization issue comes with a few legislative and judicial strings attached. The arrest count for marijuana-related offenses in 1996 was an exorbitant 642,000. A majority of these arrests are for mere possession. Shockingly, marijuana-related offenders, even first-time possession cases, are subject to much harsher penalties than those involved in violent crimes. This is a gross contravention of the rights of otherwise law-abiding citizens who use marijuana, a misuse of taxpayer dollars and a misappropriation of the law at the hands of its practitioners, while criminals of violent conduct are dealt with more leniently.

Legalization of marijuana would also invalidate the rules-are-made-to-be-broken clause that is paired with the marijuana trade. The illicit status of the drug has caused its circulation to be untrammeled and thus unregulated, making it accessible for use by minors. It is easier for minors to get a gram of weed than a pint of beer, for the latter requires a person to be 21. Similarly, a legalized status would help eradicate the smuggling and violence-related drug trade that continues to claim many lives. Appropriate and safer use becomes inevitable with the regulation of the drug.

06-01-98