High Hopes for Marijuana

In our society, when the topic of marijuana surfaces, many people often wonder if marijuana should be legalized. There are, however, many people who wonder why marijuana is illegal in the first place. With marijuana prohibition currently limiting our inherent civil liberties, restricting our freedom, and costing the American taxpayer seven billion dollars a year in prohibition costs, the need for a change seems evident, not to mention the fact that marijuana prohibition simply does not work.

The American public has become accustomed to a life of freedom, or at least the implication of being free. People of the required age are allowed to indulge in alcohol, as well as tobacco, with the only real government intervention being age restrictions of its users, advertising of its products, and taxation of sales. The adverse health effects of both alcohol and tobacco are no secret, yet these products are legal. Marijuana on the other hand does not reflect the same dangers of alcohol or tobacco, and still it is outlawed by the federal government. The United States government has the right to intervene in someone’s life, and in turn stifle their actions of freewill, when the person risks endangering other people. Marijuana users though, just as consumers of alcohol who abide by the rules of law, affect no one but themselves. This being said, some would say the government might have the right to intervene in a person’s choice of actions if those actions could cause substantial harm to the person. Again though, marijuana use and its relation to a person’s health, is minute in comparison to either alcohol or tobacco. In addition, there is no record of anyone dying from the use of marijuana. Each year a half million people die from alcohol and tobacco use in the U.S., in regards to marijuana use though, the number remains at zero. (Lancet)

Freedom has become a household name in recent years, and the ideal of being free resonates with most all Americans. When looking at freedom in relation to marijuana users though, it is taken away at an alarming rate. In recent years more than six percent of all arrests in the United States were for marijuana possession. More people are incarcerated for drug related offenses than violent crimes, and valuable time is wasted pursing those who chose to use marijuana. The time that police officers expend while dealing with those involved in some form or another of marijuana participation, allows violent offenders a better chance of evading capture. It also weakens any attempts to halt those violent crimes before they happen. Even former President Jimmy Carter was quoted saying, “Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself.” The subject may be revered as taboo by some who wish to demonize marijuana, but over fourteen million Americans use marijuana each year, and when asking the general public, the majority of people favor legalization. Freedom is not free though, and for the time being neither are those who wish to use marijuana and avoid prosecution, that is according to the federal government and its current stance on marijuana.

As American life continues on, slowly evolving as a whole in regards to marijuana’s classification as a controlled substance, it becomes more apparent that the illegalization of marijuana is ridiculous. One of the biggest counterarguments for illegalization is the cost of prohibition. Especially during times of economic strife, spending tens of billions of dollars on the regulation of a substance that cannot be clearly identified as any more harmful than the food we eat, is something that many hardworking citizens find hard to swallow. Over seven billion dollars is spent each year on prohibition efforts, and over forty billion total when adding in missed tax revenue. (Norml) The amount of money each state could generate from legalizing the drug would be staggering. California has proven this to be true, as marijuana is the state’s number one cash crop. Still, in a time of nationwide economic disparity, money is wasted on the prosecution of marijuana users, and also essentially refused, in that it cannot be taxed if it is illegal to possess.

Prohibition is not an original concept to deal with marijuana. Alcohol was once outlawed in America, and it should be noted that many lessons were learned from that experience. One simple lesson being, people will continue to do what they want, no matter what the consequences may be. Marijuana is easily accessible in every state, and in every city, and in every small town across America. It is widely agreed that marijuana usage rates would show little change if made legal. (Drugwarfacts.org) Those who oppose the plant’s legalization would argue that marijuana usage would skyrocket, thus leaving the country in shambles, while seemingly being overran by a new breed of lazy, yet aggressive, drug-induced sociopath. This however, is not the case. More so reflecting the feel-good nature of an after dinner glass of wine, marijuana would simply let everyone relax a little, and with the stresses each American witness on their local newscast each day, relaxation might just be what we need as a nation.

The marijuana discussion continues to grace the pages of magazines, shows on cable and even primetime television, and pages of internet forums in numbers higher than any other time before. The percentage of citizens, who accept marijuana as not a drug like heroin, but more like beer or other alcohol, is at an all time high as well. The truth is, marijuana will continue to be used by people all across the globe, and especially in the United States. Regardless of penalties imposed by the use, or even, just possession of the drug, people of all ages and all backgrounds will risk imprisonment in order to obtain their own civil liberties. They will make this choice because they know and understand what marijuana is, and they see through the misconception that is painted of marijuana, when looked at through the eyes of the law.

m.i.c.a.h.