PACK THAT IN A BILL AND SMOKE IT

Reefer, maryjane, pot, marijuana, dope, ganja, and weed; the many
names of cannabis. Pardon my bluntness.

For the record, I don't smoke marijuana, mainly because I don't enjoy
its effects and also because I'm a hard-working, poor college student.
However, I do support its legalization.

The U.S. war on drugs primarily focuses its attacks on marijuana. The
Sentencing Project, which works for changes in sentencing law and
policy, conducted a study that showed the war on drugs stresses too
much financial and personnel investment in marijuana offenses, that it
diverts funds away from other crime types, which represents a
questionable policy choice.

The term was first coined by former president Richard Nixon in 1972,
and the initiative was a prohibition campaign to reduce the illegal
drug trade. However, the public policy has been a complete failure.
The war on drugs government policy has escalated since the 1970s,
while becoming more violent and expensive with no science or legal
justification.

The irony is that prominent politicians supporting these policies
suggest the use of drugs can permanently damage a person's future, yet
they have experimented with illegal substances before.

High-profile politicians such as Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and
Barack Obama have all admitted to using marijuana before, as well as
harder substances. Their drug use has not harmed their political
careers by any means.

Former president Jimmy Carter stated that penalties against a drug
should not be more harmful to an individual than the use of the drug
itself. He told congress in 1977 that he supported "legislation
amending federal law to eliminate all federal criminal penalties for
the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana."

If the U.S. were to legalize marijuana, taxpayers would save billions
of dollars. The war on marijuana costs $12 billion annually due to
enforcement, prosecution and propaganda against it for law reform.

Around 60% of prisoners in the U.S. are serving for drug offenses.
According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws, there are 830,000 individual marijuana arrests per year,
equivalent to 95 per hour, far more than the total number for all
violent crimes combined, such as rape, murder and assault. Out of the
marijuana violations, nearly 90% of those were charged with possession
only.

Marijuana is like a peace lily compared to alcohol and cigarettes;
those are the real weeds. There are 400,000 tobacco-related deaths
each year and 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning. In
the history of mankind, there has not been a single death from
marijuana use. It is impossible to die from an overdose on marijuana;
one cannot smoke oneself to death.

Smoking marijuana does not cause any serious health problems like
those caused by alcohol or tobacco. A study by the UCLA School of
Medicine conducted on 243 marijuana smokers over the course of eight
years showed "neither the continuing nor the intermittent marijuana
smokers exhibited any significantly different rates of decline in lung
function as compared with those individuals who never smoked
marijuana." The school study concluded, "No differences were noted
between even quite heavy marijuana smoking and non-smoking of marijuana."

Marijuana use does not induce violence. Picture a marijuana bar next
to an alcohol bar. Which one is more likely to experience a bar fight?

Bill Hicks, a famous American comedian in the 1990s, said, "I have
never seen two people on pot get in a fight because it is f impossible!

"Hey, buddy!

"Hey, what? End of argument."

Unlike cigarettes and alcohol, marijuana has medicinal benefits.
Information from the Mayo Clinic shows it has been effective in
reducing nausea in chemotherapy cancer patients, stimulating appetite
in AIDS patients, reducing muscle spasms and pain in multiple
sclerosis patients and reduced pressure in the eyes with glaucoma patients.

A study conducted by Time Magazine and CNN shows that 80% of Americans
support the legal use of medicinal marijuana for patients.

Marijuana does not harm the body or mind. According to the Drug Policy
Alliance, marijuana does not cause physical dependence nor is it
addictive. There is only a small minority who develops a mental
dependence, and less than 1% of Americans smoke marijuana on a daily
basis.

Unfortunately, the anti-marijuana propaganda suggests that those who
use marijuana are smoking their futures away.

Everything is good in moderation.

"They lie about marijuana," said comedian Hicks. "Tell you pot smoking
makes you unmotivated. Lie! When you're high, you can do everything
you normally do just as well . you just realize that it's not worth
the effort."