MARIJUANA USE A VICTIMLESS CRIME

It can be difficult to take anyone arguing for the legalization of marijuana
seriously.

Listening to a pot head spout on the enormous amount of government waste the
War on Drugs has produced makes one wonder about the other ways the
hemp-smoking orator has worked to decrease government spending.

Take actor Woody Harrelson's argument.

Harrelson argues Kentucky farmers should be growing hemp because of its
economic benefits, and then consider the other ways he has rallied out of
concern for farmers -- or lack thereof.

To prevent any misunderstandings, I must say I have never tried marijuana, I
have no plans to and I don't recommend you do, either.

That doesn't mean I believe you shouldn't be allowed to.

Legalization opponents generally have two arguments to support their
beliefs: Marijuana is bad because it is illegal, and marijuana is illegal
because it is bad.

Most every attempt to argue with those opposed to legalization will result
in this circular logic.

As Politically Incorrect's Bill Maher said Tuesday, sometimes it feels like
we're living in a communist country, where the facts come second and the
views of the politically correct arena come first.

Shockingly, the criminalization of marijuana in California in 1919 had
nothing to with the health of the citizenry.

Rather, marijuana was made unlawful for racial reasons -- as is the case
with most of the older anti-drug laws (The University of Chicago Law and
Social Inquiry, "The Split Labor Market and the Origins of Antidrug
Legislation in the United States," Spring 1999).

Marijuana was relatively unknown in the United States until the use of
Mexican labor was increasing in the parts of the Southwest.

The Mexicans were a source of inexpensive labor, much to the dismay of
racist Americans. As a result, marijuana was criminalized as an excuse to
arrest Mexicans (The University of Chicago Law and Social Inquiry).

To date, there is no solid evidence marijuana has serious negative effects
on the body.

According to the English medical journal The Lancet, "Cannabis produces
euphoria and relaxation, perceptual alterations, time distortion and the
intensification of ordinary sensory experiences, such as eating, watching
films and listening to music.

When used in a social setting, it may produce infectious laughter and
talkativeness" ("Adverse effects of cannabis", Nov. 14, 1998).

Egad.

Long-term effects of the smoked marijuana are similar to those of
cigarettes, including lung cancer (The Lancet).

The dizziness, bloodshot eyes and misperceptions of the world one
experiences while high hurt no one.

While lung cancer can kill pot smokers, smoking pot is their choice.

Every drug has side effects, so it is not surprising marijuana is any
different. The severity of pot's side effects certainly does not warrant its
illicitness while alcohol and cigarettes remain legal.

Even the American Medical Association, the New England Journal of Medicine,
the American Academy of Family Physicians, Virginia Nurses Association and
the American Cancer Society among others, recommend marijuana either be
prescribed to patients or further researched for its medicinal benefits.

These recommendations indicate marijuana can be used safely.

At some point in time, the people of this country decided the government is
qualified to protect them from themselves.

When the government feels it is capable of controlling what you can and
can't do to your own body, this country is in trouble.

Of course, if you choose to get behind the wheel of your car while high or
push marijuana to children, you are endangering other people.

That's where the law should step in -- at the same point as it does for
alcohol.

I'm not saying alcohol laws actually prevent drunk driving or sales to
minors. However, you can't prohibit a substance just because it has the
potential to be misused.

That sentence bears to be repeated: You can't prohibit a substance just
because it has the potential to be misused.

Look around you right now. There are probably 10 items that could be used in
committing a crime.

Those opposed to legalization also argue crime, separated families and
poverty are often the result of drugs.

No, they are the result of drug laws.

Let's punish murders, rapists, thieves and everyone else who tramples on the
rights of others. Let's not punish those who hurt no one.

The argument is not that breaking the law should not be punished; it is that
marijuana laws should be removed from the books.

Until marijuana laws are removed, users should be punished in accordance
with the law.

If marijuana were legalized, the price would drop, and the government could
regulate its sale.

Prisons could house those who were hurting others.

Families would not be separated.

Lives would not be destroyed.