By: Jacob Bailes
For decades,
cannabis use has been the center of debate across the country. Misled beliefs
and perceptions have created a negative atmosphere around marijuana and its
possibilities.
In the early 70s,
states began to reduce penalties for possession of marijuana. Many cities have
also have moved forward to decriminalizing pot. Even though restriction has
decreased over the years, arrests have gone up from 188,682 in 1970 to 755,000
in 2003 (via NORML.org). The U.S. Department of Justice says that alcohol abuse
leads to around five million violent crimes per year. Marijuana abuse isn’t
even tracked because it is not associated with violence other than what becomes
of prohibition. If you ask me, a non-violent person engaging in non-violent
behavior doesn’t make a criminal. Initiating force and throwing them in prison
does.
Opinions aside,
let’s look at the facts: decriminalizing marijuana will save a ton of money
that the government wastes daily enforcing this battle in the war on drugs. For
instance, states spend millions of dollars each year enforcing drug laws.
However, since there’s no link between marijuana use and criminal behavior,
legalization would have no increasing impact on the crime rate. Since Colorado legalized
marijuana on January 1, statistics show that crime has actually gone down. Also,
if it were taxed as a commodity, revenues would increase by the tens of
millions. It is projected to bring in around 184 million dollars within the
first year and a half. This money could be used to benefit our nation and the
world.
One worry is that
if marijuana were decriminalized or legalized, it would lead to an increase of
crime. Due to the fact that most criminals have used drugs one time or another,
the correlation is made that it must be the cause of the crime. There is no evidence
proving this claim. Marijuana is neither a gateway drug nor an enabler of
violence by itself. The only exception to this is possession and distribution of
it, which would correct itself upon legalization. The argument that drugs cause
crime because criminals use drugs is no more valid than saying that drinking
water causes crime because at some point in their lives criminals have ingested
it.
The only way that
marijuana could lead to additional drug use by users is because of its
criminalization. If dispensaries could sell it as they do coffee, for example,
customers could come in, buy a product they know was regulated safely, and
leave it at that. Where as with it being illegal, most users must obtain it
from questionable sources. This raises the possibility of it being contaminated
or a number of other dangers. Also, being around that criminal atmosphere could
lead to further criminal activity that the person would have never been around
if it were legal. Pot smokers are not threatening anyone’s safety.
There are many
benefits to having marijuana around and a lot of myths surrounding it. In
comparison, alcohol overdose leads to thousands of deaths per year, but it’s
still legal. For example, marijuana provides a number of natural medical fixes
without the harmful side effects that pharmaceuticals do. It kills cancer
cells, treats seizures, and prevents the deposits in the brain that causes
Alzheimer’s. It has been used all throughout history and there’s a lot of
information about it. The drugs that the FDA approves regularly are not nearly
as known about and cause a plethora of health issues and even death.
Maybe there’s a
corrupt economic reason criminalization exists. Legalization would knock many
pills off the market. Hemp and its many uses would surely put plastic and fuel
companies down. We have to come together as a nation and agree that freedom is
unconditional. We’re not truly free until we all have the right to do with our
lives as we wish. It doesn’t matter if your beliefs align with others’ or not,
as long as they’re not endangering you. It’s time to step away from
misconceptions and stand for what this country was built on.
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