NEW MARIJUANA STUDIES AND PROPOSALS REVISIT OLD DEBATE

After a new study released by the British Lung Foundation alleges newfound
dangers of smoking cannabis, a new debate ignited about the dangers of
legalization. While there are many solid arguments made to legalize
marijuana, it seems wrong to make yet another vice more accessible than it
already is.

Marijuana advocates make a strong case for its legalization. While this new
study suggests that marijuana cigarettes are approximately 7 times worse
than tobacco cigarettes, advocates still make the case that if the dangers
of tobacco can be taken into consideration before smoked, then marijuana
users should have the same ability. Advocates of pot also stress how
overworked the judicial system is trying pot smokers and the strain it puts
on the government financially.

A lot of money could also be available from the legalization of marijuana.
If taxed similarly to tobacco, the government could possibly have a new
source of revenue. The question remains if the public wants education paid
for by marijuana taxation.

The credibility of the study is also in question, when not too long ago a
Canadian study advocated the legalization of marijuana. With this constant
flux in the state of information on cannabis, it becomes difficult to
maintain a solid position on whether or not it should be legalized.

With tobacco and alcohol use as prevalent as they are, if we find out that
marijuana is much worse, physically, for someone, is it wrong to make it
any more readily available? While many proponents say that marijuana should
be legalized due to it being a natural substance, that does not make it any
better for people and no more fit for consumption on those grounds.

Still, marijuana use is not restricted to a minority in America. With many
Americans being regular users and still more having experimented with pot,
this debate will not be easily dismissed. With Nevada and Arizona both
trying this election year to develop systems of lowering the charges placed
upon people caught possessing small amounts of marijuana, the issue is
finally coming from the development stage into the implementation stage.

Nineteen districts in Massachusetts were able to change marijuana
possession from a criminal offense to a civil one. If these programs are
successfully implemented, this issue will only get more intense.

With so many cases for medicinal marijuana use playing out and San
Francisco exploring the possibility of a Medicinal Marijuana Production and
Distribution Center, more and more advocates of marijuana legalization are
stepping forward and under fire to ask questions that, until now, only
appeared in High Times.

Problems arise with this new hopeful legislation, as it is only a partial
legalization and would be difficult to maintain and enforce. With so many
legal and law enforcement problems already caused by marijuana use, it is
unwise to produce more by making half steps.

No matter how many angles the problem is viewed from, it is still a debate
with more facets appearing daily, and one not readily fixed, but at least
it is finally being looked into.