HIGH SOCIETY

America's attitude toward marijuana is being brought to the forefront of a
national discussion. A recent Time magazine cover article, voter initiatives
for marijuana legalization and a possible Canadian restriction of marijuana
laws have America closing in on a crossroads.

Should we continue to criminalize a drug that many people believe is less
dangerous than alcohol? Or should we legalize a drug that can be mentally
addictive and many believe is a gateway to harsher substances?

According to Time, the majority of Americans have decided: they want pot to
be illegal, but not really enforced. However, both pro- and anti-pot
advocates are forcing the issue upon America, with the hopes of making
Americans pick a side.

The fight over legalization was centralized in Nevada this election day,
where Question 9 was placed before voters. Question 9 would have allowed
citizens to possess up to three ounces of marijuana legally. However, the
initiative was defeated this Tuesday by a 61 to 39 percent margin.

This vote is a disheartening event. Keeping pot illegal is a blatantly
hypocritical stance for lawmakers. A careful analysis of the situation shows
that marijuana is illegal solely because of its poor reputation. Pot is
demonized and disparaged because of its association with the counter
culture.

It is associated with cocaine and heroin rather than beer and cigarettes
because of governmental bans. Respectable, hard working cowboys smoke
Marlboros; true red-blooded Americans drink Budweiser; but only hippies and
dropouts smoke pot. This is the stereotype that is portrayed by government
propaganda.

Let us analyze the facts. According to Time, pot is less addictive (9% of
users become addicted) than either alcohol (15%) or cigarettes (33%). The
same article showed that participants in a controlled study who smoked pot
almost daily for 10 years fared significantly worse on only 2 of 40
cognitive tests. This shows that even near constant smoking does not turn
your brain into mush, like the "This Is Your Brain on Drugs" ad campaign
from the 1980s would want us to believe.

Furthermore, no one can overdose on marijuana, unless the smoker lights up
over 900 joints in one sitting. One can easily get alcohol poisoning and die
from drinking a fifth of liquor too quickly, yet this is a readily available
amount.

So we can see that pot is far less of an overdose danger than alcohol, is
25% less addicting than cigarettes and will not turn you into a vegetable.
So by what merits is pot illegal? Pot is illegal because the government does
not believe we can use it responsibly. The government believes that by
banning a substance, they can solve the all the problems that can result
from that substance. This is an obviously flawed system. Why not simply make
smoking underage, driving while high, and stealing to support your habit
illegal? The answer is because the government is scared of change and the
possible bad PR from this change. Pot opponents have a new advertisement in
which a joint is traced back to a cartel that has killed a little girl's
family. This is a better argument for the legalization of pot than the
continued outlawing of it. When prohibition was enacted, mob violence was
the norm. Everyone had to get their beer illegally, and men like Al Capone
were kings. Similarly, if you eliminate the ban on pot, you eliminate the
cartels.

If we simply made marijuana legal, imagine the profits that could be reaped
by America's farmers and tax system. Those who would balk at having their
children's schools funded by drug money are idealistic. The money is already
being spent, so why should cartels and other countries receive it solely
because our government doesn't want us smoking what we already are?

The final point that many like to use for legalization is that pot is a
gateway drug. People who get high will want to keep getting better and
better highs, and therefore move on to more dangerous drugs. This is
ridiculous. Those who smoke responsibly will not move onto more dangerous
drugs, and those who are not responsible will. It is not a matter of whether
or not pot is legal.

If nothing else, why not compromise and continue to make pot illegal, but
only fine those that possess small amounts? By making it a fined offense,
you lose overly harsh consequences of pot possession while keeping it
illegal and not sanctioned by the government.

This debate is too complicated to be completely addressed in my meager
column. This is a debate that should rely on common sense. The only reason
pot is illegal is because it has been illegal. Yes, there are drawbacks to
its widespread usage. However, smoking pot is a harmless activity that
infringes on no one else's rights and therefore should be legal and taxed.
Let's tell our government that we are responsible enough to use this
substance without them banning us from it.

Kevin wants everyone who agrees with him to analyze the libertarian
philosophy. They are the only party that understands the situation.