Adults Should Be Allowed to Choose

AMENDMENT 44: THE MARIJUANA INITIATIVE

One on Hand...

Amendment 44 poses a simple question: Should the adult possession of
up to 1 ounce of marijuana be legal under state law? Or, as our
campaign prefers to phrase the question, should adults be punished for
making the rational choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol, if
that is what they prefer?

On its face, there seems to be no logical reason to oppose this. What
we have are two recreational substances. The difference is that
alcohol is more addictive and more toxic. It is also associated with
aggression and violence, which means it is far more likely to lead to
the harm of someone other than the user.

In addition, according to the Centers for Disease Control,
approximately 20,000 Americans die annually as the direct result of
alcohol consumption. The comparable figure for marijuana: 0.

The marijuana debate has been framed the wrong way in the minds of
Americans for too long. When asked to think about the subject, the
first reaction for many is, "Why should we add another vice?"

The opponents of marijuana legalization have helped create this
mindset by exaggerating and distorting the harms associated with
marijuana. The list of discredited assertions about marijuana - from
the "gateway" theory to a causal relationship with violence to links
to lung cancer - is too long to review in this column.

Accepting marijuana for the relatively benign recreational substance
it is, the appropriate question is not, "Why add a vice?" Instead, the
question is, "Why prohibit a safer alternative for adults?"

Our opponents have no answer to this direct question. This is because
it is not possible to defend allowing adults to use alcohol but not
marijuana. One would have to call for a return to alcohol prohibition
to make a rational argument against our initiative.

So instead, they want this debate to be about kids. They argue our
initiative will make marijuana more available to teens, ignoring the
fact that marijuana prohibition has created a situation in which 86
percent of high school seniors now say it is "very easy" or "fairly
easy" to get marijuana.

They say we will send the wrong message to kids, hoping no one will
notice that they have been so successful in their message that kids
think it is safer to binge drink than to use marijuana.

This in no way suggests we advocate teen use of marijuana. But in the
real world, kids will be exposed to both regardless of the outcome of
this initiative. And if your kids engage in binge drinking, they could
die of an overdose. If they use marijuana, they cannot. That's reality.

Here is the message we should be sending our kids: "The plain honest
truth is that marijuana is an intoxicating substance. As a minor, it
is simply not appropriate to use any intoxicating substance for
recreational purposes. But if you happen to be exposed to these
substances, here is how each one can harm you."

Amendment 44 has nothing to do with kids. If it passes, it will still
be illegal for anyone under 21 to possess marijuana, and it will still
be a felony to provide a minor with any amount of marijuana. Rates of
use will be affected by education and guidance from parents, not
marijuana's legal status for adults.

I urge you to vote yes on Amendment 44 so that we can stop punishing
adults in order to deceive children. A new policy based on logic and
truth will benefit both groups in the long run.