CANNABIS QUESTIONS

Nowadays, there are very few people that can say that they've never
been offered drugs at some point in their lifetime. There are even
fewer people that can say that they turned down the offer. Like many
issues in this country, the issue of marijuana use is a polarizing
one, with people making different arguments both for and against it.
Yet in order for us to begin to resolve this issue, changes need to
be made to current U.S. drug laws. Marijuana certainly should not be
decriminalized completely, but our current drug laws could be trimmed down.

The major debate over marijuana has centered on the laws and
penalties concerning the use and distribution of the drug. In
Massachusetts, the law dictates that anyone found in possession of
marijuana will face up to a $500 fine and six months in jail.
Although the drug laws vary from state to state, nowhere in the U.S.
does drug use go unpunished.

In reaction to this, there are a number of "Cannabis Reform" groups
that seek to influence a change in drug laws, preferably moving
towards the decriminalization of marijuana completely. These groups
have taken their movement to the federal level, and have proven that
they mean business.

Now, I am well aware that not all drug users are serious abusers.
Some people are able to use marijuana every once in a while, and then
go on with their lives. In my personal experience though, I see it as
more of a control issue than most people would admit.

I unfortunately have watched more than one friend allow drugs to
destroy their lives. In all of these cases, my friends' drug
addiction started with marijuana, but continued to progress onto
harder drugs. Marijuana has often been called a "gateway drug,"
although it has not been scientifically proven to lead to addiction
to harder drugs. More often than not however, a certain high just
isn't enough after awhile, and often leaves drug users looking for a
better one.

There is another problem facing this country that is closely tied to
the drug debate. Although this country has a large number of prison
facilities, we are still faced with the issue of inmate overflow.
There is also the fact that we spend billions of dollars each year to
prosecute marijuana offenders. If there were not so many people being
incarcerated for drug possession, the issues of prison overflow and
federal spending would be greatly decreased. Our tax dollars could
also be put toward much better things than building new prisons and
putting away minor offenders.

The U.S. boasts some of the strictest drug laws in the world, with
many other countries taking a much more lenient approach to the war
on drugs. In fact, it's well known that marijuana is legal in places
such as Amsterdam. What's also interesting to note is that many other
countries don't seem to report as big a number of drug users as the
United States does each year.

Although a direct correlation has not been drawn between decreased
drug use and more lenient laws, a convincing argument could be made.

Marijuana has also been found in past years to be is an ideal
therapeutic drug for cancer and AIDS patients, giving it a medical
quality. It is said to make common cancer treatments more bearable,
as well as decrease the occurrences of clinical depression in
patients. I think that this use of marijuana is not a bad thing, and
in fact could potentially lead us towards creating better treatments
for serious illnesses such as cancer and AIDS.

Cannabis advocates argue that drug use isn't wrong unless it reaches
a point of abuse, and therefore it is made out to be a much bigger
issue than it actually is. I have a niece who was telling me of her
peers' drug use when she was 11-years-old. I don't know about you,
but I see this as a major problem.

Ultimately, I think that we should move towards lowering the
frequency of drug use, while also focusing on reforming our drug laws
to minimize drug penalties. Perhaps by taking a few cues from other
countries around the world, we might come closer to making this a reality.

These views concerning marijuana most likely stem from my personal
experiences with my friends. Nonetheless, I can't see the sense in
decriminalizing it merely because there are millions of people that
want to be able to get high whenever they choose. While I talked to
one of my friends as he was going through a drug rehabilitation
program, I asked him what he would say to other people who are still
using drugs. His response was this: "It's not worth it." Trust me, he
would know.