DEBATE ON MARIJUANA REACHES NEW HIGH

Medical marijuana has been de-prioritized by federal substance
enforcement, meaning that while it's still illegal, the FBI won't
pursue cases against medical marijuana depots.

While the public is divided on the moral and ethical issues, no one
can argue against the fact that medical marijuana has rapidly ascended
as one of the fastest growing markets in America.

According to the MSNBC article "Medical marijuana becoming blockbuster
drug" by Al Olson published on March 24, de-prioritization has opened
up a $1.7 billion a year industry in 15 states. By comparison, Viagra
maker Pfizer made $1.9 billion last year.

A report cited in the MSNBC article by the See Change Strategy
analysis group showed reliable data on the state of the marijuana
industry for the first time. Numbers show that the sales of medical
pot could double in the next five years, and that's just counting the
15 states currently allowing medical marijuana use. Another 20 could
join in that industry, bringing the market to $8.9 billion by 2016.

Not everyone thinks marijuana should be legal. Corey Christiansen, a
sophomore marketing major from Salt Lake City, said he thinks
legalizing marijuana would cause more harm than good.

"It would cause more incidents like drunk driving," Christiansen said.
"I don't think alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes or anything else like
that should be legal. There's got to be a line drawn somewhere."

Logan Reid, research coordinator for the Southwest Behavioral Health
Center and Dixie State College adjunct instructor of sociology,
weighed in on the medical effects of marijuana.

"The flawed perception is that medical marijuana should be smoked,"
Reid said. "The medicinal effects are real, but the THC (primary
intoxicant of marijuana) which causes them could be taken with a pill."

Reid explained that studies show smoking marijuana seriously increases
the chance for lung and heart disease. He also said the canabinoid
receptors in the brain are most densely located by the parts of the
brain related to emotion, memory, perception and coordination, along
with other faculties that are harmed by long-term marijuana use.

"Research unequivocally shows that the negative impacts for using
marijuana vastly outweigh the positive," Reid said.

But some students think marijuana's legalization is only a matter of
time, and decriminalization will free up room for prosecution against
harder drugs.

A group of freshmen gathered outside the McDonald building Thursday in
a discussion about the issue. One student was asked his opinion about
legalization and soon five others joined in. Some were concerned about
the emergence of gang violence due to lack of business, while others
argued that without weed profits, the gangs would have less purpose or
power. After a long discussion, Kade Hafen, a freshman computer
science major from Salina, spoke for the group majority.

"It should be legalized, though it'll probably never happen in Utah,"
Hafen said. "They need to regulate, you know, Breathalyze for DUIs and
that kind of thing. But once I was picked up for stems, what they call
'plant matter.' I was brought to the judge in shackles in front of
people I didn't know. It was dehumanizing. That has to stop."

He didn't accept many of the stereotypes about marijuana either,
arguing that marijuana wouldn't be a gateway drug if it were legal. He
said because one has to see dealers for pot, it puts one into contact
with harder drugs he or she wouldn't encounter in a legal market.

Jenni Kartchner, a junior criminal justice major from St. George,
added her opinion as the discussion wound down.

"It could definitely benefit society through taxation," Kartchner
said. "But it would have to be for medical purposes only, and it
couldn't be allowed in public."

Campus Security Director Don Reid had his own viewpoint, cultivated
from 30 years in drug prevention experience.

"The real argument for most young people, when you get down to it, is
that if alcohol is legal, then why not marijuana, since they're both
subtle highs," Reid said.

He went on to explain why he felt pot should stay forbidden.

"Marijuana is an amotivator," Don Reid said. "If you take a person who
is well focused with a good attention span and get them smoking
marijuana three to five times a week over a three-year period, then
they'll take on an amotivational syndrome. I had friends in college
who smoked marijuana. Their attention span is shot, they don't finish
projects, they're completely changed individuals."

Don Reid said the dangers of alcohol and legalizing marijuana could
intensify the rates of phenomena like DUIs and create a black market
for higher potency, unregulated weed.

"When it really comes down to it I'm not as concerned about the life
or death issues," Don Reid said. "What I'm most concerned about is
that these bright, young college students won't be able to meet their
full potential."