MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION DEBATE LIGHTS UP

The effort to legalize marijuana has been seen as a trivial issue that
only stoners care about, but recent events have shown that adults are
starting to take notice. A bill in the Washington state legislature, a
city attorney and The Seattle Times all came out in support of
legalizing cannabis this past month. The arguments are simple. It's a
drug with overall benign effects, and its prohibition is causing an
unnecessary detriment on society. While the clear obstacle to
legalization is the drug's standing as being federally illegal, the
real battle is a cultural one.

The prohibition on weed (also known as pot if you were born before
1980) is the relic of an outdated social policy steeped in prejudice
and misinformation. Initially, states made it illegal so they could
deport Mexican laborers who were competing for jobs during the Great
Depression. In the 1930s and 40s, the drug was associated with jazz
musicians and black culture, meaning conservative whites were in no
rush to embrace logical thinking. During the 1960s and 70s, pot was
seen as a mild hallucinogen that young liberal hippies used.
Additionally, the government has and continues to support Reefer
Madness-style scare tactics that overly demonize the drug, rendering
most Americans to be complacent with its prohibition.

The cultural battle is clear and polling reflects it. On the
prohibition side, you have conservatives who believe not just that the
drug is bad, but that the "wrong kind of people do it" (i.e.
minorities, aging hippies and young liberal radicals). Furthermore,
conservatives are more likely to believe in the sanctity of the
justice system and in favor of keeping existing laws in place.

On the legalization side are liberals who either used to smoke weed,
still smoke or are just aware of the drug's benign effects. Also,
liberals are more skeptical of the justice system and believe it can
be unfair, illogical and harmful to society.

The fact that older people don't take legalization seriously shouldn't
stop the push to change this detrimental policy. When someone asks you
what does it matter if marijuana is legal, you tell them 800,000
people were arrested last year on marijuana-related charges (90% for
possession) and that's an incredible waste of the judicial system.
Students can and have lost financial aid due to a single cannabis
conviction. An injustice, given a similar alcohol-related charge would
not produce as serious a result.

Liberals need to court libertarians to support legalization, citing
both an argument of states' rights and fiscal benefits. The estimated
revenue for the state of Washington is $300 million and $1 billion for
California. This is good news as states across the country are dealing
with budget deficits.

The fact that the movement to legalize marijuana is gaining traction
with the mainstream is good, but advocates need to cast off the stigma
held by the older generation that this is a trivial issue. The
infamous counter-culture phrase "don't trust anyone over 30" sums up
the attitude that will end prohibition. However, I would go with
"legalize marijuana-for our children and our pocketbooks."