CURRENT DRUG POLICIES REEK OF INJUSTICE

"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Are these three ideals
not the very basis upon which our country was founded?

Then why are there laws in this country that take these rights away
from some with absolutely no rational justification?

I am talking about laws confining the use and possession of certain
drugs, namely marijuana. Not only is marijuana use less harmful than
alcohol and tobacco which are both legal and legitimate "drugs," it is
being punished more severely than violent transgressions in our society.

Going even further than that, laws banning this natural plant are
discriminatory, cost taxpayers tremendous amounts of money and are
more harm than help to society.

We all know the different names, what it looks like, what it smells
like and that society says "marijuana's bad." But what is so bad about
it? Let's look at the facts. According to a John Hopkins Study in May
1999, there is "no significant differences in cognitive decline
between users and nonusers of cannabis." But in terms of short-term
effects, it is not much different than alcohol, as it mainly affects
the functioning of psychomotor skills. Speaking of alcohol, more than
100,000 people per year are killed from alcohol-related accidents and
health problems. In fact three times as many people are killed in
alcohol-related traffic accidents than are by all illicit drugs
combined. Marijuana also is not chemically addictive, as is the
nicotine found in tobacco products that kill more than 430,000 people
per year. Marijuana has proven medicinal benefits, which neither
alcohol nor tobacco can boast. There are no known deaths from
ingestion of marijuana, as opposed to alcohol (alcohol poisoning); an
overdose large enough to bring a state near death is "unachievable by
humans smoking marijuana." To avoid confusion, I don't mean to condemn
the use of alcohol and tobacco; I'm just comparing marijuana use to a
legal and socially acceptable activity.

If it's okay to smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol, then why are we
punishing marijuana users? Not only are we simply throwing those
convicted of drug use (or even possession) in prison for a mandatory
minimum sentence, but we are doing so in an unreasonably accelerated
manner. While the number of people entering prison on convictions for
violent crimes has increased during the last 20 years by more than 80
percent, the number on drug convictions has increased by more than
1,000 percent. Why do we pay almost $9 billion a year to keep these
people in prison? Does it make you sleep better at night knowing that
the big, bad pothead from next door is behind bars, right where he
belongs?

Marijuana use is a crime that affects nobody but the user, whose
inhibitions and any aggressive tendencies are lowered. What business
is it of ours to throw harmless marijuana users in jail, while violent
felons are left to roam the streets? Despite the continued stringency
of these laws, drug use has not declined; 141 million people use
marijuana today. There is no point to this continued fight against
drugs. There is a chance, however, to take a step forward and reduce
the severity of these laws in California right now. Prop. 36 (on the
ballot this November), if passed, will replace automatic imprisonment
with probation and a drug treatment program for the conviction from
the possession or use of illegal drugs. Not only will this make more
room in prison for violent offenders, but it will also save an
estimated $150 million of taxpayers' money each year soon after
implementation

These laws as illogical as prohibition was in the '20s are creating a
setback for society. The majority of drug-related arrests are made in
mid-to low-income neighborhoods, where minorities make up a higher
proportion of residents. This, along with "racial profiling" (brought
to the public's eye recently), accounts for the disproportionate
number minorities arrested on drug-related charges.

African Americans, for example, make up 13 percent of drug users yet
comprise 55 percent of those convicted. As if this isn't bad enough,
the Higher Education Act of 1998 denies financial aid to students who
have any drug-related convictions, regardless of the severity.
Financial aid is supposed to be a tool for helping those who can't
afford a higher education, yet just by the nature of this act, it is
denying assistance to those for whom it is aimed to help: low-income
families. How are these minorities supposed to escape the stereotypes
and continued cycle of poverty if our law enforcement seeks them out
for arrests and our government denies them monetary assistance to work
towards a college degree?

Currently there are two active student organizations on campus
advocating more lenient and rational drug policies: the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and Students for
Sensible Drug Policy. Currently these two groups are working in
conjunction with each other, advocating Prop. 36 and petitioning the
reform of the Higher Education Act.

Think about it. Do our present laws regarding drug policy make any
sense? Do they achieve anything besides the waste of taxpayers' money
and the further subjection of minorities? Why can't we just leave
marijuana users alone? I don't ever remember a stoner hurting someone
else as a result of his or her usage; in fact, I always remembered the
stoners as the kindest and most tolerant people, laidback and
stress-free. What business is it of ours to govern the harmless
activities people do in the privacy of their home?

Why can't we just relax and start worrying about the things that
actually hinder society?