COLUMNISTS AGREE: MARIJUANA SHOULD BE LEGALIZED

The Clash's "Justice Tonight/Kick It Over" plays on the stereo, and the
room has a certain smoky quality to it. While some spent Easter hunting for
eggs, Simon Samano and Blaine Sullivan enjoyed the holiday known as 4/20.
But this was no mere smokeout - this was serious analysis of the marijuana
policy in the United States.

Samano: Blaine, here we are enjoying a Sunday afternoon, and I'm still
wondering: When will our government finally legalize marijuana? When will
it reform its hypocritical policy that allows 18-year-olds to kill
themselves with cigarettes? When will it realize that imprisoning marijuana
users is more harmful than actually smoking it? When will it finally
acknowledge it as a medicine? When will it learn from other countries that
have relaxed their laws? Can't we all just hit the bong?

Sullivan: Simon, that sounds like a plan to me. Our federal government
refuses to acknowledge the evidence in favor of legalization or, at the
least, decriminalization; most state governments tow the line. Perhaps they
too need to hit the bong. Smoking cigarettes is quite legal and kills
nearly 4.2 million people worldwide each year. Tobacco is far more
dangerous than marijuana, but cigarettes have always been accepted. I doubt
the millions of dollars that the tobacco industry gives to politicians have
anything to do with that. It's a terrible hypocrisy that needs to be
recognized by everyone. And history has taught us that prohibition of
substances is not the way to go. Don't you agree?

Samano: There's no doubt about it. The government needs to understand that
the millions of Americans who smoke weed won't stop, no matter how hard it
tries to instill false images in their minds that demonize this relatively
harmless plant. If people want to relax and get high, why can't they
without the worry of going to jail? We allow alcoholics to get drunk and
beat their wives, but only charge them with one crime. There's something
seriously wrong with this. Imagine indulging yourself with a blunt in the
comfort of your own home, minding your business, and America's finest
busting in with their guns drawn. Does anyone else see how ludicrous that is?

Sullivan: Enron's Kenneth Lay will spend less time in jail than someone
caught with a relatively small amount of pot, and he ruined thousands of
people's lives! It seems that if I find an injustice in this country, I
should just follow the money up to the top. Marijuana is currently in the
same drug schedule as heroin and cocaine, but its schedule could easily be
relaxed with no consequences. It isn't even remotely comparable in harm,
but it is enforced as if it were. Legislation is long overdue citywide,
countywide, statewide and federally that would keep people out of jail for
something as minuscule as inhaling.

Statistics from government agencies show that 46 percent of those
incarcerated are on marijuana charges. I think every student who can't get
classes because of overcrowding (even after paying some serious cash for
tuition; not to mention books) should ask if our leaders are spending our
taxes the right way. Simon, you'd tell me if I was wrong, wouldn't you?

Samano: Of course I would, but there's no correction necessary. Let me tell
you, Blaine. Of all the things I hate about marijuana being illegal,
nothing saddens me more than the denial of marijuana to the sick and dying.
It's tragic the feds can't even make an exception for the suffering cancer
patient who desperately needs it to alleviate some pain. Nine states
currently have medical marijuana laws, including California's Proposition
215. The problem, however, is that these are ignored by federal law, which
supersedes state law, giving the FBI the green light to raid cannabis clubs
in states with medical marijuana laws.

Such an event occurred in September 2002 when federal agents barged into a
Santa Cruz medical marijuana clinic, resulting in the confiscation of 130
plants and three arrests. But the city responded outrageously two weeks
later when Mayor Christopher Krohn publicly handed out marijuana to a dozen
patients in front of hundreds of people outside of the city hall building.
Federal agents were on hand, but could only watch as patients accepted
their necessary prescriptions.

It's a grave injustice that medical marijuana growers, such as Oakland's Ed
Rosenthal who faces a life sentence, are thrown into prison for doing their
duty as human beings by helping the less fortunate. An injustice like this
should cause all Americans to question the system currently being practiced.

Sullivan: I agree wholeheartedly. I mentioned earlier that 46 percent of
those in our prison system are there on marijuana charges. What I failed to
mention is the United States recently passed the 2 million imprisoned mark.
The Justice Policy Institute recently authored a study that showed that 25
percent of those in prison worldwide are here in the United States,
although we only make up 5 percent of the world's population. If the prison
populations of Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the
Netherlands were thrown together, you would still find more inmates in the
state of California alone. A 46 percent reduction in inmates would surely
leave prisons with more room, and courts with more time to deal with real
crimes.

Speaking of real crimes, it's a crime that a college student will be denied
financial aid if they answer "yes" to questions about possible past
marijuana convictions on their financial aid application, but there is no
mention of car theft, rape or murder. Who would have thought that it would
be easier for a rapist to cheat the system than a pot smoker? Something is
terribly wrong here, and it sorely needs to be corrected. What say you, amigo?

Samano: I say this: The bottom line is marijuana needs to be either
legalized or decriminalized. It's long overdue.

President Jimmy Carter once said: "Penalties against drug use should not be
more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere is
this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in
private for personal use."

If you ask me, Jimmy knows best. It's too bad our current president doesn't
see things the same way. He loves war - even a drug war that victimizes
geriatric cancer patients in San Francisco.

Sullivan: I couldn't say it any better than you or Jimmy, so I won't strain
myself. I hope those in power will start to look at the piles of evidence
that support legalization and get this mess straightened out. Far too many
people are going to jail, and far too much money is being spent on an
antiquated notion that marijuana is the quick road to ruin. Anybody who's
ever tried it will tell you the opposite.

- Blaine Sullivan is a philosophy senior and a senior staff writer for The
Daily Aztec.

- Simon Samano is a journalism junior.

- This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec.
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