THE TRUTH ABOUT LEGALIZING MARIJUANA SHOULD BE WEEDED OUT

The debate circling around marijuana use has culminated over several
articles and letters in the Collegiate Times for the past several months,
and it appears that although some great arguments ranging from the economic
to the biblical have been made, some important sentiments remain.

First, although the Bible is a great tool of learning and a strong moral
grounding may be attained by reading it, hardly a text so many millennia
old can be the single or strongest basis for deciding the legality of this
substance.

The shaky interpretations of the Bible simply doesn't hold up to scrutiny
because so many passages in the texts may be read in a different light,
including the passages that have been used to both support and oppose
marijuana legality. Second, it is true that marijuana use has not been
clearly connected in a clinical study to lung cancer.

However, the conclusions of cigarette and cigar studies show that it is the
high levels of tar, carbon monoxide and several carcinogens formed when the
material is burned that do contribute to these diseases.

Obviously if marijuana is smoked, then these same conclusions hold even
though their extent is not yet proven.

Third, legalization or decriminalization would increase the number of
individuals who use marijuana, and the frequency of its use.

Regardless of the additional revenue generated from the taxation of this
drug, the skyrocketing costs of healthcare for these individuals would far
outpace that income.

It is no secret that Congress and the president have reduced payments to
Medicare and Medicaid, and if the number of Americans using this drug were
to expand, these programs would be swamped in a matter of years.

Forth, although marijuana is like cigarettes, cigars or alcohol in its
distribution and user profile, it is different in that it is a lot more
potent, especially for light or occasional users. A pack of cigarettes
could induce nicotine high, but would only be sustained by that pack for
one person for about a maximum of six hours, and it is not likely that that
person's judgment would be seriously impaired.

Likewise a case of beer would impair reasoning, although some mental
faculties would remain unaffected.

For marijuana, a single cigarette-sized joint is all it would take to
seriously hamper a person's judgment. In short, marijuana is entirely too
potent in that small amounts can have very strong effects.

Fifth, marijuana's medicinal uses are a credit to the plant's usefulness.
There is indeed some value in what the drug can do, but its potential as a
menace to society far outweighs its usage as other drugs exist than may
fill that use.

Sixth, marijuana is not shown (as yet) in clinical studies to induce
physiological addiction. However, like the twelve-year-old addicted to
arcades or video games, this drug's addiction is very real.

Given the opportunity to "escape" reality by getting high rather than face
reality is in itself addicting.

These individuals are held (read: addicted) by their inability to face
these issues rather than a chemical dependency.

Finally, marijuana, although a potential revenue producer, medicinal plant
and even supported by the Bible, simply does not live up to the promises
made in these arguments.

Its usefulness is simply negated by expanded use and cost, health issues,
addiction and potency.

From these points, marijuana use should not only not be legalized or
decriminalized, but its users would be better served by quitting and
preventive measures for the youth enacted with greater vigor.