THE GREAT DEBATE: SHOULD MARIJUANA BE LEGALIZED?

YES: DECLARE TRUCE IN WAR ON POT

For the past 20 years, we have been involved in a complicated, costly and
largely ineffective war on drugs.

In spite of Just Say No, DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) and the
prosecution of drug offenders, drug abuse is still a big, messy and
expensive problem. It is a problem best solved with the legalization and
regulation of marijuana.

Neither the health risks nor the effects of marijuana are more severe than
those of alcohol or tobacco. A Johns Hopkins University study published in
the May 1999 American Journal of Epidemiology reported "no significant
differences in cognitive decline between heavy users, light users and
nonusers of cannabis" in the 1,318 participants studied over a 15-year period.

Additionally, marijuana addiction is psychological, not physical, and
therefore relatively easy to break.

"More than 90 percent of people who have ever used the drug have long since
quit," says a 1998 special report on marijuana in New Scientist magazine,
suggesting that the grasp of cannabis addiction is weak.

If marijuana isn't very dangerous, aren't we throwing our money away by
pretending that it is. Considering the cost of arrests, trials and
incarcerations, busting people for marijuana is expensive.

For example, according to the FBI's 1999 Uniform Crime Report, 46 percent
of the 1.53 million U.S. drug arrests in 1999 were for marijuana. Of those,
88 percent were for possession alone.

If marijuana were legal, money currently spent combatting cannabis could be
used in ways that are far more likely to curb abuse: prevention and
treatment programs for hard drugs such as heroin and methamphetamine.

While prevention is the best way to stop drugs, programs such as Nancy
Reagan's Just Say No campaign and DARE have failed.

In a study in the August 1999 Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, in which 1,002 individuals experienced either DARE or a
standard curriculum in the sixth grade, "few differences were found between
the two groups in terms of actual drug use, drug attitudes or self-esteem,
and in no case did the DARE group have a more successful outcome than the
comparison group" upon re-evaluation at age 20.

DARE lacked results because, while it taught kids how to say "no," it
didn't make them any more inclined to want to say "no." Prevention programs
are more likely to be effective if they give factual knowledge about drug
abuse - how it affects the mind, body and life of the user.

In addition to preventative measures, money also needs to be channeled into
addiction treatment programs, such as counseling and rehabilitation, which
help to end the addiction cycle.

It is high time we accept the errors in our war on drugs and take measures
to correct them. After 20 years of failed policies, enough is enough.
Marijuana is not on a par with drugs such as heroin and shouldn't be
treated as if it were.

With the decriminalization of marijuana, our money and time can be focused
on ending real drug-abuse problems. Only then can we hope to lessen the
grip of serious drug addiction.

Sara Boettcher is a senior at Creswell High School.

NO: ON BALANCE, PASS UP GRASS

Guess what would happen if marijuana were legalized. The next time you have
cramps, a migraine or other chronic pain, your doctor might tell you to go
smoke a joint.

Instead of Aleve or Advil, you could enjoy the pleasures of what is now
considered an illicit drug.

The other day, I had an argument with my friends at school. We debated the
advantages and disadvantages of legalizing marijuana. They are all strongly
opinionated people, and I learned several facts from them.

One thing I learned is that marijuana does relieve pain and that it is not
nearly as addictive as morphine. It can ease the nausea and vomiting caused
by chemotherapy and, at the same time, give you a wonderful high.

Despite the positives, I am not convinced. There are so many other factors
that need to be considered. Marijuana causes some parts of the brain - such
as those governing the emotions, memory and judgment - to spin out of control.

Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is one of the main chemicals in marijuana. It
attaches itself to receptors in the hippocampus (an area in the back of
your brain). This part of the brain is responsible for short-term memory.

When THC arrives in this area, it inhibits new memories from forming and
also can cause people to forget facts they have just learned. Also, THC
influences the limbic system (the part of the brain responsible for
emotions) and can cause attacks of hysteria and paranoia.

If you choose to ignore the attacks and memory loss, consider what
marijuana can do to your lungs. Its smoke carries more tar and other
particles than tobacco. You can relieve your migraine, but you also have a
higher chance of developing lung cancer.

So far, there aren't any other safe, alternative ways to take marijuana.

THC attaches to certain other receptors in your brain, and when it is
there, it blocks pain and nausea. Researchers recently discovered that the
brain makes a chemical - anandamide - that attaches to the same receptors
as THC. This discovery may lead to the development of medications that are
chemically similar to THC, but less harmful. You could get the same
results, but with no lung cancer or short-term memory loss.

Are there advantages to legalizing marijuana. I can't deny that the answer
is yes. Do the benefits outweigh the side effects. No. We already have too
many people high in our country. We don't need to prescribe it when there
are other safe alternatives.

We are learning valuable information from research done on marijuana,
research that some day may enable us to find chemicals that provide the
same effects without the dangers.

Kimmy Schwarm is a senior at Willamette High School.