WAR ON MARIJUANA A WASTE OF TIME, MONEY

The "War on Drugs" originated in the Nixon administration and
continues today with billions of dollars spent and hundreds of
thousands of prisoners caught annually. Yet to be won, the "war"
refers to the government's prohibition of illegal drugs such as
marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamines. 2009 marks the 36th
anniversary of the beginning of the war with nobody celebrating
victory, mourning in defeat or begging for mercy.

This war has amounted to more than $12 billion in the government's
annual spending over the past 10 years. In the economic conditions of
America today, as we stare the Second Great Depression in the eye,
any means of revenue will help. Legalization and decriminalization of
marijuana will help save the government money and it will be able to
allocate its officers to more dangerous drugs.

In 1932, Franklin Roosevelt campaigned to repeal the prohibition of
alcohol with the 21st Amendment. "Our tax burden would not be so
heavy," said Roosevelt referring to the country's dire economic
situation. With the combination of taxation of alcohol and reduced
enforcement policing alcohol, Roosevelt was looking to save millions
of dollars and profit with taxes from sale revenues.

President Obama currently supports medicinal marijuana and opposes
legalization or decriminalization. Should marijuana be legalized and
decriminalized completely, with the government taxing and enforcing
laws similar to those on alcohol, they are looking at profits of up
to $76 billion a year, predicts Harvard economist Jeffery A. Miron.

The evidence that marijuana is harmful is either not apparent or
significantly less than for other drugs. In 2001 the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention tallied 331 overdoses from alcohol
compared to none for marijuana. Marijuana consumption does not lead
to domestic violence. Illegal marijuana trafficking and the black
market is what causes domestic violence and gang wars, like the
current state of turbulence in Mexico.

More dangerous drugs than marijuana, such as crystal methamphetamine,
plague the Hawaiian Islands with their highly addictive properties
and dangerous side effects. Hawai'i currently has the highest rate of
meth users per capita in the United States. The Honolulu Police
Department reported in The Honolulu Advertiser that meth use has been
linked to property crimes, such as car theft or burglary, and violent
crimes. It was hypothesized that a crackdown on marijuana made more
people resort to the more dangerous drug, crystal meth. The
legalization and decriminalization of marijuana would allow more
officers to focus on the deadlier, more addictive, more violent drug
of crystal methamphetamine.

As people debate the time period the United States should fight its
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, citizens should also debate how much
longer they are willing to wage a war within their own country.
Similar to the "War on Terrorism," the "War on Drugs" is the United
States government waging war on its own citizens.

Marijuana has little negative externalities. It is possible for
history to repeat itself, and the government will overturn one of its
biggest policy disasters.

For change to happen, people need to speak out against the "War on
Drugs" and advocate for a different, more sensible policy. Wars are
fought against people, not things.