I went to Erie this weekend and decided that I hate it there. I feel so much more at home here than in Erie. I mean, it's a beautiful town with so much potential. Nobody gives Erie enough credit for how exciting of a place it actually is. The thing I hate about Erie is the people. I live in a town with 40,000 alcoholic, spoiled, white college kids. They're better drivers than people in Erie. Also people in Erie are fat and need to stop standing around the mall in the aisles while people are trying to get around them.
Maybe it's just bad Christmas spirit, but I can't stand being anywhere near the mall during the holidays.
Anyway, I got a 95% on my ENGL 030 final. I wrote about decriminalizing marijuana, a topic that has been the focus of college essays since my parents went to school. Nonetheless, I feel good about it.
The biggest problem with drug advocates is that their irrevocable, incapacitating addictions to marijuana prevent them from accomplishing absolutely anything, or for that matter, having the credibility to sway any public opinion outside the doors of a Phish concert. The reason for this inactivity is no more complicated than the simple fact that marijuana is a highly addictive drug and those under its influence lack the motivation and ability to lead a productive life. The fact that the retired CEO of Progressive Insurance, Peter Lewis, is a prominent figure in the fight to legalize marijuana in Nevada is only an exception to the rule (Stein 2). Michael Bloomberg’s admission to not only using, but also enjoying marijuana was blown way out of proportion (Manjoo). The ninety-four million Americans who have admitted to trying marijuana at least once (NORML) probably account for the majority of the unemployment statistics.
Actually, in light of all of those statistics, I think it’s important to take a step back and ask, with a slightly glazed-over look about the eyes, “Wait, what?” It seems strange that marijuana, the simple possession of which is a federal crime (Randall), has been used by well over a quarter of the population of the United States. Criminal offenses such as marijuana possession put people behind bars, and not the good kind. The federal law, therefore, implies that over a quarter of Americans should be housed within the correctional system, or at least within East Halls. It’d be nice to consider the fact that the law is geared more towards the distributors of the drug rather than the casual users, but eighty-eight percent of the marijuana arrests in 2005 were for possession. Even more surprisingly, those marijuana-related arrests, totaling over 750,000, outnumber murder, assault, violent rape, and robbery combined. It’s nearly frightening how much time and money is spent prosecuting people committing this “victimless crime;” I, for one, think it’s absolutely ridiculous that so many innocent people are put in jail (or worse, prison) for doing something completely amoral, especially because someday, it might be me or somebody close to me who is put in a position like that. Common sense clearly dictates that the criminality of marijuana possession is unfair towards responsible users of the drug.
There’s no question that consuming marijuana can have adverse health effects, but the question is, “How relevant are they?” According to an editorial in The Lancet, “The smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health.” Even thirty years ago, the relative harmlessness of marijuana was known when a report commissioned by President Nixon clearly stated that “neither the marihuana user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety (NORML).” The criminality of marijuana on the basis of health risks seems unfair, since there are plenty of fully legal adult activities such as using tobacco or alcohol that are known to increase the risk of disease, but are fully legal. Former President Jimmy Carter once said, “Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself,” (NORML) and the majority of marijuana advocates tend to agree.
If marijuana doesn’t have any significant impact on health in the long-term, then the reason for the illegality must be that the marijuana trade has negative impacts on society. However, if I recall correctly, the last time a relatively harmless recreational drug was made illegal, it promoted organized crime like nothing else, corrupted the bureaucracy of countless cities, and was the cause of numerous murders. Marijuana is hardly any different, although the Civil War on Drugs, much like another war that the United States is involved with at the moment, costs a ridiculous amount of money (over ten billion dollars a year, in fact), consumes law enforcement resources, and accomplishes little in the way of improving the country (NORML).
Decriminalizing marijuana is not that outlandish of a goal, but it requires the participation of people. Many average, responsible Americans use, or are close to people that use, marijuana, but they choose to do nothing about the “criminal” branding that these users receive. If American citizens supported politicians that are pro-decriminalization, or wrote to legislators about the importance of decriminalization, there would be more support for marijuana in the political arena, and all of these innocents would become innocent again. Unfortunately, the stereotype of what kind of person a marijuana rights activist is often detracts from their credibility and can make some people afraid to admit their use of the drug. Awareness, however, is key: Keeping people knowlegable about the topics would encourage activism and acceptance of the drug.
People from all walks of life are known to use marijuana, not just the aforementioned underachieving Phish fans. Is it fair for people to be branded as criminals when their only crime is possessing a drug with relatively harmless side-effects? No matter how responsible they are, being caught with the drug can ruin their career, can put them in prison, or cause them to lose their children, a fate which hardly seems fair for the 750,000 people arrested for marijuana each year.
