EDU: COLUMN: MARIJUANA MORE HYPE THAN ACTUAL DANGER

Marijuana more hype than actual danger

Amsterdam. The pot smoker?s haven. For the first time in my life, I
will be trying marijuana.

It?s called white widow. It?s supposed to be pretty good. I?m a pretty
straight shooter, so this is totally new for me.

But here we go. As I cough my brains out, I wonder what the ?high?
will feel like.

Ten minutes: slightly light-headed. Twenty minutes: I take another
hit. Thirty minutes: I feel a bit happier than usual. My train of
thought is a bit harder to control. I feel like eating some chips or
hot wings. Forty minutes: nothing else. One hour: feeling normal. Two
hours: feeling normal.

Wait, what? THIS is what they make illegal in the United States? Maybe
I did it wrong? Well, we are in Amsterdam, so I?ll try again tomorrow
and do it correctly.

Tomorrow, two huge hits: only slightly light headed. What?s going on?
Is this all there is to it?

One massive space cake and two more hits later, I still feel
relatively normal.

A few hours later, I feel exactly the same. I spend the rest of the
day visiting the Van Gogh museum like any other sober tourist.

After five days of getting high in Amsterdam this summer, I can only
conclude that the people who made this drug illegal are full of crap.

Considering marijuana is much less powerful than 6-plus drinks of
alcohol, I now see that laws against it are frankly ? well ? idiotic.

I?m willing to bet that most of the people who created these laws have
never tried weed, but have one alcoholic in the family.

I see how someone might be less productive when using the stuff
consistently, but its effects are mild in comparison to the long-term
effects of smoking or alcohol.

When was the last time one of your friends checked into Weed Smokers
Anonymous or died from pot poisoning?

Maybe my personality isn?t an addictive one. But I can tell you that
if I used cigarettes, vodka and weed until my dying day, it wouldn?t
be the weed that killed me.

So Feds, spend money on something that actually matters.

According to the NORML Foundation, more than $10 billion of taxpayer
money is spent on marijuana enforcement.

Let?s put that money toward new schools or teachers?
salaries.

Maybe we could regain the millions taken from the University?s
budget.

Hell, you could even tax weed sales and increase police officers?
salaries.

I wouldn?t be opposed to using that money to keep harmful drugs such
as crack, heroin and methamphetamines off the streets as well.

Personally, I won?t be smoking weed again since it had little effect
on me. I?d much rather be at the gym hitting the bag or going for a
swim.

But to those people who want to take a load off and relax with a
little weed on Friday afternoon, I?m all for it.

If you?re feeling adventurous next time you?re in the Netherlands,
head to Inner Space Smart Shop, Spuistraat 108, just southwest of the
Amsterdam Central train station.

Look for the orange mushroom sign above the door. Tell them Jason from
Georgia sent you. You?ll have a magical day, I promise.

Just remember that you are all adults. Mommy and Daddy aren?t always
looking over your shoulder anymore.

If you feel the need to try weed, by all means do. Just don?t expect
too much from it.

? Jason Orlosky is a senior from Augusta majoring in Japanese