Marijuana is a mind altering drug, and not unlike its wet counterpart alcohol, it has the ability to unite or divide those discussing its place in American society.
According to federal surveys, more than 70 million Americans over the age of 18 have smoked marijuana. Its effects are described as an altered perception that causes feelings of well-being, relaxation and reduced stress. It has also been attributed to an increased appreciation of humor, food and music.
Its low toxicity is responsible for the well-known fact that marijuana has never directly caused a death. It was even reported by the Washington Post in 2006 that marijuana smoking, even in extreme cases, does not lead to lung cancer, while cigarettes cause 440,000 deaths a year.
So why is marijuana illegal in the first place? In a 2002 Zogby International poll, American's ranked marijuana as far less dangerous than alcohol and cigarettes, yet those things can be bought by a legal patron at most gas stations.
Marijuana's illegality is a matter of business history. In 1937, the marijuana tax was passed with help from anti-hemp newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst. The ferocious and corrupt Hearst had significant financial interest in the timber industry, and when it was found that hemp - cannabis grown for non-drug use - could be made into a stronger paper, he fought for a ban on cannabis plants completely by printing frivolous newspaper stories warning of marijuana's dangers. The bill passed, due in large part to his financial support and, as they say, the rest is history.
In 2003, when the National Office of Drug Control Policy reported the government was spending $29 billion annually to prosecute and incarcerate marijuana users, the negative public response to the report sparked the largest interest in the pro-weed cause ever. In 2006, a Time/CNN poll stated 72 percent of Americans supported marijuana decriminalization, which reduces marijuana-use penalties to fines alone. Decriminalization has been implemented in 13 states, including Nebraska, and could reach 20 by 2010.
Could this increased interest in decriminalization ultimately lead to legal weed? It's hard to say, but as the decriminalization movement gains steam, so does the legalization movement. With a modern legalization policy, the government could monitor who was buying this drug and at what age, just as they have done with alcohol and tobacco for years. Not only would it keep drug dealers from selling weed to kids, it would send a dagger into the stomach of the black market drug industry.
In 2006, marijuana was named America's most valuable cash crop, with an estimated production value exceeding $35 billion annually, which exceeds corn and wheat production combined. By making marijuana a legal commodity, the government could keep drug dealers from banking off the drug's mass appeal.
So what would happen if marijuana was legal? During the prohibition of the 1920s, people who wanted to drink continued to do so. The same can be said of marijuana prohibition. If weed were legalized, stoners would still get high, and non-users would still have the right to choose if marijuana was right for them or not.
In 2005, Harvard professor and economist Jeffrey Alan Miron issued a report that stated that marijuana should be legal and the crop should face taxes much like those seen with tobacco or alcohol. If realized, he predicted the United States would earn an estimated $6.2 billion annually. This extra tax revenue could be a real economic boom.
The ultimate gains the United States could see from legalized weed are far-reaching, but it's a hard case to sell to those opposed to it. Many people have the stigma that weed ruins lives, when it can be said alcohol has ruined millions of more lives, yet it's still legal. It also can be said that more than 3 million violent crimes are committed by drunken people every year and alcohol causes a rise in domestic and sexual abuse in American families.
Can the same be said of weed? If somebody's husband or father smoked a joint before returning home for the night, would he want to beat his wife, high as a kite? The effects of marijuana have been said to block anger - especially physical anger.
Maybe if marijuana were legal, our murder and domestic abuse rates would drop, or our economy wouldn't be in trouble. Maybe our jails wouldn't be full of people whose lives are ruined because they got caught with weed and more people would take time to sit back and realize that the good things in our world outweigh the bad.
Maybe everything would be different. Whats your opinion?
