360 Degrees: Marijuana

Marijuana and its legalization is an issue of much controversy. This debate like so many others boils down to a clash of science and religion. The biggest opposition to the legalization comes from the people who are uncomfortable with the drug morally, because the scientific evidence to back their arguments is fairly weak. They mostly worry that legalizing marijuana will create a society of pot-heads. The supporters of the its legalization point to benefits in the medical field, potentially revenue from its taxation, decreased cost from drug related arrests, and the potential to make the drug safer with FDA regulation.

When I first started doing a little research for this post I was pretty undecided, but after reading around I found my worries were pretty unfounded remnants of the "drugs are bad" speeches I listened to in elementary school. I tend to favor opinions with a lot of scientific backing and there was little to be found against marijuana, other than its role as a gateway drug. But then a thought occurred to me, prescription drugs are legal and government regulated, and they aren't gateway drugs. So why do people go through the trouble of abusing the illegal ones? I support the legalization of marijuana for mainly the following four reasons:

1. State Revenue- Although I generally disapprove of new taxes, this would be one that I would support. Just like we have taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, taxes of marijuana could provide much needed revenue to alleviate the debt caused by our profligate (just had to throw in a vocab word) government spending.

2. Regulation- If marijuana was legalized and corporations took over its production, then the government could step in and regulate it. This could make the drug safer and cheaper, theoretically lowering crimes associated with it such as theft. The cheaper costs could also stamp out the illegal trafficking of it buy putting dealers out of business. If you can walk down to your local pot store and grab a joint, why pay your creepy dealer hiding out by Subway double for poor quality weed?

3. Decreased Drug-related Arrests- Last year in the United States, over 847,000 arrests were made in relation to marijuana, and 89% of those arrests were for possession only. These arrests cost an estimated $10 billion. If it were legal, that would be $10 billion dollars in, wait for it, more spendable government money! It would also put less strain on our overcrowded jails and free up the court systems for more important cases than the "dumb teenager caught with a joint" cases.

4. Medical Uses- The active part in marijuana shows promising signs of being used effectively in pharmaceuticals. Marijuana itself has also been shown to have success when used therapeutically for terminally ill cancer patients. The drug itself is actually far less harmful to our health than we have been brainwashed to believe. Marijuana is less addictive than nicotine and is nearly impossible to overdose on. But legal alcohol accounts for over 50,000 overdose related deaths each year. The only health concerns are related to its long term smoking, but those effects are similar to long term tobacco use.

A lot of the fear surrounding the legalization of marijuana is associated with it getting into the hands of kids. Newsflash, it already is. Countries with a legalized marijuana market, such as The Netherlands and Switzerland, have lower adolescence abuse rates than the United States.

We don't even need to legalize marijuana for anything other than medical purposes, and most of this argument would still hold water. Although I'm uncomfortable with the idea of marijuana being legal, the more research I do the more my fears just look like fears.