STOP THE WAR ON DRUGS, LEGALIZE THEM

Last Thursday, the annual Winona State spring club fair brought life
and activity to the campus courtyard. Members set up tables, flashed
posters and orchestrated eye catching activities to promote interest
in their respective clubs.

One club made brownies, tossed Frisbees and indulged in every single
hippie stereotype possible, including tie-dye, hemp jewelry, mellow
music, earth tones, homemade clothes and marijuana. Yes, last
Thursday, my friends, was 420, the national hippie holiday.

Winona State's own NORML club seized the opportunity to promote their
"lifestyle" all over campus. NORML stands for the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or in other words the
"I like pot and don't want to get in trouble for using it" club.

Smoking cigarettes is bad. We know this. Well, marijuana smoke
contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco
smoke, yet there's a constant debate defending pot.

Anyway, while I may not indulge in the "lifestyle," I do agree with
their message.

Legalizing marijuana is a great idea. In fact, we should legalize all
recreational chemicals and stop spending money fighting the "war on
drugs." If you want to staple your hand to a piece of paper, go for
it. Honestly, I could care less and I definitely wouldn't be
investing any money trying to prevent you from doing it. So, why
would I want to pay taxes to prevent you from smoking pot?

Make drugs legal; take away the power of the black market. You don't
see people peddling caffeine pills and shooting each other over a
Mountain Dew. Instead of funding the enforcement of penalties, let's
fund the publicizing of research.

If people still want to hinder their potential, let 'em. Short-term
marijuana usage is linked with memory and learning problems,
distorted perception, difficulty thinking and problem solving, loss
of coordination and increased heart rate.

Heavy use is linked with cancer in the lungs and head, decreased
blood flow to the brain and adjusting chemicals in the brain
(dopamine is involved with the regulation of motivation and reward).

But hey, the research is conflicting, there are many students who get
good grades and are very involved with life and Mary Jane. Sherlock
Holmes, Sigmund Freud and Stephen King were all addicted to cocaine.

King even said that "without coke I'd have gone on drinking until
about the age of 55 and it would have been a couple of lines in the
New York Times: 'Writer Stephen King dies of stroke.'"

Raise the banners and burn the research, cocaine is good for you too.
Let's legalize drugs, drink constantly in excess and remove those
hideous safety labels.

May only the strong survive; Darwin, return to the throne.