LEGALIZATION WILL NOT HURT

Everything you wanted to know about marijuana according to the
government:

The Office for National Drug Control Policy has many things to say
about marijuana. The Web site for the ONDCP (www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov)
cites extensive evidence for why marijuana is illegal, the health
risks associated with the drugs use and other interesting facts about
how to consume the drug.

"Marijuana is a green, brown or gray mixture of dried, shredded
leaves, stems, seeds and flowers of the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa).
Cannabis is a term that refers to marijuana and other drugs made from
the same plant. Other forms of cannabis include sinsemilla, hashish
and hash oil. All forms of cannabis are mind-altering (psychoactive)
drugs.

"The main active chemical in marijuana is THC
(delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol).
Short-term effects of marijuana use include problems with memory and
learning, distorted perception, difficulty in thinking and problem
solving, loss of coordination, increased heart rate and anxiety.

"Marijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette (called a joint) or in a
pipe or bong. Marijuana has also appeared in blunts, which are cigars
that have been emptied of tobacco and refilled with marijuana,
sometimes in combination with another drug, such as crack. It can also
be mixed into foods or used to brew a tea."

Those are the first three paragraphs from the link on the ONDCP's site
and they present a pretty scary picture. The site goes on to explain
that marijuana is a highly pervasive drug with many people reporting
that it would be easy or very easy to obtain this illegal substance.

Progressing down the site, information can be found on who uses
marijuana and how often. Then the ONDCP reports its findings of health
effects. According to the Web site, there are 50 to 70 percent more
carcinogens in a marijuana cigarette than in a tobacco cigarette. They
report that marijuana smokers have similar health problems to tobacco
smokers in regard to respiratory function.

Further down are slang definitions, so that those who do not know what
"weed," "pot" and "Mary Jane" mean, can be informed. There are many
links to other similar Web sites for more information.

There are thousands of people who break the law everyday and it's not
because they are speeding.

Those who smoke marijuana are in danger of being sent to jail or worse
in some states. This shouldn't be taken lightly. For every
recreational marijuana user that sits in jail, there is an additional
cost to the community in the form of taxes. According to the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the prohibition
of marijuana costs taxpayers about $10 billion each year. This
estimated $10 billion is only the cost of arresting and prosecuting
offenders; it says nothing about the $1.2 billion that is spent on the
offenders once they are sentenced to serve time. But there is more to
the argument than money.

Marijuana is the third most-used recreational drug, right behind
alcohol and tobacco. These two drugs are legal and are far more
harmful to your health than marijuana. First, nicotine is far more
addictive than marijuana, as far as anyone has yet been able to prove.
Second, 50,000 people die from alcohol poisoning each year and
cigarettes are the cause of 400,000 deaths every year. No one has ever
"overdosed" on marijuana and a marijuana cigarette is nontoxic; too
bad the same can't be said for its tobacco counterpart.

According to a European medical journal called "The Lancet," "The
smoking of cannabis, even long-term, is not harmful to health. ... It
would be reasonable to judge cannabis as less of a threat...than
alcohol or tobacco."

Some students on campus feel the same way. Music education major
Brooke Ritter asked, "Why are cigarettes legal when they kill people
and have no medicinal purpose, but marijuana has medicinal purposes
and it's not as harmful to your lungs?"

Noah Rice, another music major, agreed. "Alcohol kills more brain
cells and cigarettes are more addictive," he said.

Many cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis patients use marijuana as a
"painkiller." It's the most natural Advil money can buy. Why shouldn't
these people be allowed to deal with their pain how they choose? Why
shouldn't everyone? A marijuana user is far less likely to crash a car
and injure themselves or others than a person who has just drowned
their sorrows in several pitchers of beer.

But wait! There's more! 734,000 people a year are arrested for
"breaking" a "marijuana law." The majority of these arrests are for
simple possession, not dealing or trafficking. This number is far
larger than the number of arrests made for all violent offenses such
as murder, rape and aggravated assault, combined. The nation's police
and judicial forces would be much better off spending their time on
violent crimes, would they not? Wouldn't it be more prudent to catch
all the murderers and rapists rather than less than 30 percent of the
recreational marijuana users?

Many people who are against the legalization of marijuana say it's a
"gateway drug." But research supports the contrary. On the NORML Web
site, there are links to a study that states that for every 104
marijuana users there is one cocaine user and less than one heroin
user. The gateway that marijuana usually provides is the one to the
kitchen for some chips and a soda.

There are obviously concerns about the difference between use and
abuse. If you abuse anything it makes it dangerous to yourself and
others. However, since the abuse of alcohol is treated close to the
same way the use of marijuana is treated, there is an obvious schism
between what the law should be and what it actually is.

Visit www.norml.org for more information on the decriminalization and
legalization of marijuana.