Stop the Madness... Legalize It!

“Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana for personal use.” Jimmy Carter, our former United States President, couldn’t have said it any better. Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant. Marijuana can be smoked, eaten, or drank to get its desired psycho-active effects. It is the most commonly used and least addictive drug of all the illegal drugs in the U.S. Marijuana has been used recreationally, medicinally, spiritually, and economically for thousands of years and by many different cultures. The oldest piece of hemp, which is fiber off of the marijuana stem, found was dated between 8000 BC and 7000 BC. The first use of marijuana as an intoxicant was the appearance of Bhang around 1000 BC. Bhang was mentioned in the Hindu ancient texts known as Atharvaveda. Bhang, or the preparation of leaves and buds off of a marijuana plant, that is turned into a liquid and drank. Although marijuana is an intoxicant; it is also a very useful resource. It can be used as oil, paper, textiles, plastics, construction, food, natural body care, livestock feed, and medicine. Although I would love to tackle these issues, I am simply going to address the recreational use of marijuana, why it is illegal in America, why it should be legal, and what I would do to fix this problem.

So, why is marijuana illegal in the United States of America? Well, to start off, let me give you a brief American history lesson. Back in the late 1920’s, when President Hoover was elected he chose Andrew Mellon as Secretary of Treasury. In 1931 Mellon appointed his nephew-in-law, Harry J. Anslinger to head the newly formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. Anslinger soon found that opiates and cocaine lacked influence to build his new bureau. He started heavily exaggerating the effects of marijuana and immediately worked on making marijuana illegal on the federal level; considering its legality in the U.S. started in the 1600’s.

So how would Anslinger accomplish his goal? Easy; lies. But how could he accomplish this goal? The Media. Examples are found in Anslinger promoted “Gore Films” which are anti-marijuana films that were shown to the public to heavily exaggerate and lie about the effects of marijuana. Another piece of media he used was newspapers and magazines belonging to media chain owner, William Randolph Hearst. Hearst owned more than 30 mainstream newspapers and was heavily known to use yellow journalism, or the use of cheaply sensational exaggerations in the media to attract and influence readers. But why help Anslinger’s cause?

First off, during the Spanish-American War, Pancho Villa and his marijuana smoking troops seized 800,000 acres of Hearst’s timberland in 1898. Not only was Hearst prejudice before, but he developed a new found utter hatred for Mexicans after Pancho Villa. And who were the first people to introduce the recreational use of marijuana? The Mexicans. Who were the primary American recreational users of marijuana at this time? Mexican-Americans. The second and more important reason why Hearst backed Anslinger is for business. The marijuana industry would heavily threatened Hearst’s investments and business because marijuana is much cheaper and just as efficient as timber. So between the years 1936 and 1938, heart’s newspaper empire used yellow journalism and propaganda to attack the marijuana culture. And that he did with headlines such as, “Marihuana Makes Fiends of Boys in 30 Days” or “Hasheesh Goads Users to Blood”. Some of the lines in his articles include “you smoke a joint and you’re likely to kill your brother” or “Marihuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing”. When looking at these articles you really could go on and on finding examples of racism, propaganda, and yellow journalism. But when it comes down to it these are simply lies to persuade and convince the public that marijuana is immoral and wrong.

To get back to the legality issue of the recreational use of marijuana; the second reason why marijuana is currently illegal is due to the term “the gateway drug”. The “gateway drug” theory suggests that marijuana use will open a user up to harder drugs. Today’s analysts give no conclusive or statistical evidence that proves this theory. When it comes down to it, the fact is that you have to acquire marijuana illegally, and when dealing with the so called “Black Market”, you are bound to eventually be around an individual who associates with harder drugs. Hence, the reason why marijuana is mistaken as “the gateway drugs” is that it is illegal in the first place. Ultimately, it comes down to the individual’s decision to use a harder drug or not.

The third reason why marijuana is currently illegal revolves around the youth of our country. Many people feel that if marijuana were legal, it would be way easier for kids to use it’ this is 180 degrees out of whack. It’s actually way easier to get illegal drugs nowadays. All you have to do is walk across the street with some money. You don’t even have to be or know someone who is 21. If marijuana was regulated like alcohol, this wouldn’t be a problem.

The final major reason why marijuana is currently illegal is due to the term, “Social Inertia”. It is proven that when something has been banned for awhile, society usually becomes comfortable with it. Let’s face it; it’s common to fear change. And with a topic like the legalization of marijuana, “Social Inertial” has obviously played a huge role in keeping marijuana illegal.



Now that I have addressed the major reasons why marijuana is illegal, I’d have to ask why it should be legal. Well, my first argument would be the comparison between legal drugs and marijuana. According to plenty of federal sources, marijuana is less addictive than caffeine, marijuana is no where near as intoxicating as alcohol, and the dependency of marijuana is nothing compared to the dependency of nicotine. When looking at statistics such as these you have to wonder what sort of logic the top federal programs of our nation uses.

Another reason for the legalization of marijuana is so that average, law abiding, tax paying American citizens doesn’t have to live in fear. This subculture of marijuana smokers are known as the “Silent Majority”. The people within this silent majority are afraid of being labeled as criminals, losing their jobs, their financial aid, their public housing, their families, their freedoms. Believe it or not experts organized the accounts of people arrested in the U.S. and they estimate that the population of the “Silent Majority” is in the millions.

Legalizing marijuana would also be much better for our justice system. First off, with all the billions we spend against marijuana per year, we would be able to fight much harder drugs like cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, etc. Second, marijuana makes up for hundred of thousands of arrests per year and thousands of people in jail per year. Not only does this cost money to keep someone in jail but it also takes up jail space for the real criminals. Even when looking at these numbers, many people feel that the laws regarding marijuana prohibition targets the dealers and growers of marijuana not the users. This is a common misconception.

With legitimate FBI data it is clear that possession arrests take up the vast majority of all marijuana arrests; and all marijuana arrests take up almost half of all drug arrests. If you look at the numbers, in 1995 there were over 40 thousand more people arrested for possession of marijuana than the sale or cultivation of marijuana. According to FBI data the uneven numbers continued to grow every year and in 2000 there was almost 60 thousand more people arrested for the possession of marijuana over the dealing and cultivation of it. The point is that the justice system will suffer as long as marijuana remains illegal.

Another more arguable of a reason to legalize marijuana is that the government would be able to tax it. I said this is a more arguable of a reason because the situation would be much more complex than just taxing it. Now, naturally once you legalize and tax something, someone is going to see that they can produce the same thing and not charge tax, and get a good profit; as long as the police don’t get involved with these bootleggers, or those who illegally produce or sell, in this case, marijuana. I’m not trying to hurt my cause, but if people seriously want to consider the taxing of marijuana then they need to be realistic. However, even if bootlegging became a problem, which it probably temporarily would, that doesn’t mean we can’t adjust laws like we have in the past. If we were to adjust and/or create laws to contain and abolish bootlegging, we can just let, “Social Inertia” take its course. Oh, and in my opinion, although I am absolutely pro marijuana, I feel that we need to be in a stable economic state to try this out; therefore I’m not counting on marijuana being legalized overnight.



So if I had the chance, what would I do to resolve the laws regarding recreational use of marijuana in the United States of America? First off, make marijuana a Schedule III drug rather than a Schedule I drug. Under the Controlled Substance Act, Schedule I drugs are the most harmful of drugs and Schedule V are the least harmful of drugs. Considering marijuana is a Schedule I drug, it is seen on the same level as cocaine or heroin. If marijuana was made into a schedule III drug, the U.S. government will be able to set new policies regarding the proper distribution, sale, and consumption of marijuana based on accurate, unbiased scientific research

Second, the methods of buying marijuana need to be clear. To start off, marijuana should be sold in a controlled setting similar to liquor stores. In Europe these stores are known as “Coffee Shops”. And considering that the marijuana intoxication level is higher than the nicotine intoxication level then, realistically, the age limit to buy marijuana should be around the same as alcohol. Marijuana should be sold in a distinguishable package like TOP tobacco or a pack of cigarettes. Each marijuana cigarette, or joint as they are commonly known, is to be rolled in a distinguishable manner or with a different type of paper – rice paper would be the best because of its transparency.

Third, the consumption laws, in my view, should be along the lines of alcohol as well. First off, marijuana is to be used in a controlled setting such as your house. Smoking while driving will result in a DWI for the driver with the same punishments as alcohol and, if there is a passenger, and he/she fails a realistic, government formed sobriety test, they will receive a fine as well. Consumption of marijuana in public and in all vicinities besides your house or your friend’s house will result in a fine. If you smoke at a friend’s house, you are to stay the night or leave with a designated driver.



Lastly, bootlegging will also need to be addressed. The selling of illegally grown marijuana will result in a hefty fine or jail time; depending on the quantity being sold and the dealer’s criminal record. The cultivation of marijuana will result in a heavier fine than or jail time than dealing illegally grown marijuana; of course depending on the quantity and cultivator’s criminal record. There is t be no possession of, or the sale of marijuana seeds. Possession of seeds will result in a fine and the selling of seeds will result in a larger fine.

As far as other government recommendations go; I would set the health hazards of marijuana at the same level as cigarettes due to its pulmonary uses. I would heavily emphasize the possible dangers of any kind of recreational smoking around children. I would also find it necessary to promote a “healthier” marijuana lifestyle with advertisements of vaporizers in the media. For those who do not know what a marijuana smoking vaporizer is; a vaporizer of the sort is used to heat up and smoke a small portion of marijuana without combusting it with a flame. The vaporizer simply heats the nugget of marijuana to about 400°F which is the boiling point of the THC chemical. The use of this chemical, without the other more harmful chemicals and toxins will help establish a new way of living and will also give marijuana use a better reputation. Although vaporizers are very expensive, for the sake of health, they are more than just worth promoting.

Now with this piece, I really hope that I have spread awareness, educated, and made my entire readers think about the negatives of keeping marijuana illegal. And for those of you who still feel that everything I said is wrong and think that marijuana turns people into utter losers who will never achieve anything in their life, I leave you with a list of some of the most successful people in the world who are outspoken marijuana users; Stephen King, Montel Williams, Ted Turner, Michael Phelps, Rick Steves, Sir Richard Branson, and, of course, our current United States President Barrack Obama.





Works Cited:



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"U.S. Marijuana/Drug Arrests." Web. 20 Mar. 2009. <http://www.bbsnews.net/bw2002-07-18.html>.



"Why is Marijuana Illegal? - Drug WarRant." Recently Changed Weblogs. Web. 29 Mar. 2009. <http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2003/12/22/whyIsMarijuanaIllegal.html>.



"Why Marijuana is Illegal - Top 7 Reasons Why Marijuana is Illegal." Civil Liberties at About.com - Your Guide to Civil Liberties News and Issues. Web. 08 Apr. 2009. <http://civilliberty.about.com/od/drugpolicy/tp/Why-is-Marijuana-Illegal.htm>.