MY CASE FOR DECRIMINILAZING MARIJUANA

Stop Digging: Legalize It

Last week my piece discussed the conflicting views on the use of
marijuana for both medical and recreational purposes.

I pointed out that while research into the merits of marijuana for
medicinal properties is limited, it would be irresponsible to allow
for its legal use. I also pointed out that those that promoted the
legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes did so on the
basis that tobacco and alcohol are similarly dangerous and unhealthy
but remain legal and so marijuana should be made legal, an argument
that does not hold up in the court of critical thinking. But, for the
sake of fun let's say that the government did legalize pot. How would
they do it and what compromises should be made?

Obviously the first order of business would be for the government to
find a way to regulate who sells the drug and what exactly is legal.

The simplest solution would be for the government itself to be the
retailer, similar to the way ABC stores work in North Carolina. This
would allow the government to regulate what is sold in order to weed
out the bad stuff(pun intended). It would also allow the government to
regulate prices and who buys. The producers of the marijuana would get
most of the money and the government could skim a tax off the top that
could be reinvested into rehabilitation and health care. This new form
of agriculture would undoubtedly create a few more jobs and be a
temporary boost for the economy.

The legal age for purchasing and using marijuana should be set at
twenty-one, thus making it just as difficult for those that are
underage to get their hands on it as alcohol.

Additionally, the age for purchasing and using tobacco products should
also be raised to twenty-one and sold in the same stores as alcohol
and marijuana.

This is because they are all dangerous, they all have properties that
could either induce addiction or dependence, and they should all be
regulated equally.

Most schools do not allow the use of drugs for sports teams or clubs
and buildings and businesses very likely would not allow the use of
marijuana on the premises.

Chances are, the standing of marijuana as seen by society would not be
advanced and those that partook would most likely be doing so in the
confinement of their own home. After all, that is where most marijuana
is consumed.

The debate about whether crime would increase or decrease due to the
legalization of marijuana is fierce.

Many say that if marijuana is legalized, the prison system would not
be as overcrowded by those with simply possession convictions and that
there would be less room on the streets for pushers and dealers
because they would be out of business.

Those that disagree contend that those same pushers and dealers would
just move on to bigger and badder drugs and that crime would actually
stay about where it is.

I believe that, amongst college age students and those directly out of
college, use may actually decrease.

The idea of getting your hands on and using something that is not
allowed is "cool" in high school, college and into one's twenties.

But if marijuana were legalized, it would just be another unhealthy
foreign substance.

College kids like their booze because it does the job without sticking
around for too long. Obviously experimentation would increase for a
while, but eventually the novelty would wear off and marijuana would
sink to the same lowly status as cigarettes.

Regardless of the outcome of legalization, the government would be
responsible for doing all the dirty work, church groups and activists
would protest loudly, and the initial costs would be high. Using would
go up exponentially for the first few years as everyone that ever
wanted to do it finally does, and those that have in the past do so
even more. This is why there is no chance that the government will do
it any time soon and why I don't believe they should.

It would be irresponsible for a government to promote the consumption
of a substance that is harmful to the health of its citizens with the
premise that it will lower crime because the end does not justify the
means.

Marijauna should remain illegal and probably will. Sorry Sean Paul!