420
Founder
On Tuesday, Nov. 1, the residents of Denver passed The Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative. This initiative allows adults over the age of 21 to possess up to an ounce of marijuana. This is the first law of its kind making general possession of marijuana legal, but it draws attention to a growing body of city and state laws that take a markedly different stance on marijuana than do federal laws.
Denver is the first city to legalize possession of marijuana outright, but ten states, including Colorado, have legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Also, several cities have passed laws making the possession of marijuana the lowest priority for law enforcement. While these developments appear to be a local backlash against federal marijuana laws, the federal anti-drug laws still take priority over state laws. This is why several cities have made marijuana possession the lowest law enforcement priority. These types of laws try to sidestep the federal statutes; they maintain the illegality of marijuana possession but simply do not enforce the law.
Even though cities must find loopholes to evade the federal laws, this string of pro-marijuana laws reflects a growing sense among the American public that marijuana may not be as detrimental to society and harmful to individuals as the public was once led to believe. It certainly has its negative aspects such as short-term memory impairment and impaired lung function, but even these are not as harmful as once thought.
The Denver law especially draws a comparison between marijuana use and alcohol consumption as a reason for its legalization. In fact, the law goes so far as to set the minimum age for marijuana use as the same as that for alcohol - 21 years old. Proponents of the law argued that marijuana use was as safe as or safer than alcohol use. The text of the initiative itself said that 317 people die annually from alcohol overdose, but there has never been a reported case of a marijuana overdose.
Other strong arguments can be made for the legalization of marijuana as well. Marijuana is often called a "gateway drug" - a drug whose use acts as a pathway to abuse of harder drugs. Some researchers claim that marijuana use triggers chemical processes that create a desire for harder drugs. That may be true, but marijuana's "gateway effect" also stems from a simpler mechanism - users must buy from drug dealers who also push harder drugs. If marijuana is legalized, users will buy it from a store, not a drug dealer, and thus will not have as easy access to other drugs.
This benefit extends further. Simple economics tell us that if marijuana users are able to buy their drugs from stores rather than drug dealers, there will not be any marijuana dealers left in the streets. There will certainly still be dealers selling other drugs, but controlling the sale of marijuana through legalization will drastically reduce drug dealers' and thus drug lords' stranglehold on society. It will even decrease the number of users of other drugs because some will switch to marijuana from other drugs since it will be cheaper and safer.
If marijuana was sold in legitimate stores, its sale could be regulated by the government much more easily and effectively than it is now. Just as the government heavily taxes alcohol and cigarettes, it would be able to tax marijuana to regulate its price. That extra tax revenue could then be directed toward drug treatment programs, for example.
There are drawbacks to legalizing marijuana. Even though it will be regulated, the price will still be less than the current street price so more people will use it. Use will also increase as people who were previously only deterred by the risk of punishment will try it. However, that use will be safer since the production process will be legal, regulated and purer.
People also point out the possible effects on society ? decreased productivity as people wander around stoned instead of showing up to work, for example. While the legalization would likely need to be timed to coincide with the beginning of a long weekend, most people will not walk away from their daily lives and routines just because marijuana is now legal. Also, companies will be able to regulate marijuana use just as they do alcohol use. People would get fired, for example, if they showed up to work high, just as if they showed up drunk.
While the legalization of marijuana is certainly a contentious issue, laws such as Denver's are just the tip of the iceburg of public reaction to outdated federal drug laws. We have been conditioned to believe that marijuana use is an abhorrent evil, but when we slow down and actually look at the facts, the situation looks much different.
Source: Tiger, The (Clemson U, SC Edu)
Copyright: 2005 The Tiger
Contact: editor@thetigernews.com
Website: The Tiger News: Top List, Net worth, Culture & Society Newspaper
Denver is the first city to legalize possession of marijuana outright, but ten states, including Colorado, have legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Also, several cities have passed laws making the possession of marijuana the lowest priority for law enforcement. While these developments appear to be a local backlash against federal marijuana laws, the federal anti-drug laws still take priority over state laws. This is why several cities have made marijuana possession the lowest law enforcement priority. These types of laws try to sidestep the federal statutes; they maintain the illegality of marijuana possession but simply do not enforce the law.
Even though cities must find loopholes to evade the federal laws, this string of pro-marijuana laws reflects a growing sense among the American public that marijuana may not be as detrimental to society and harmful to individuals as the public was once led to believe. It certainly has its negative aspects such as short-term memory impairment and impaired lung function, but even these are not as harmful as once thought.
The Denver law especially draws a comparison between marijuana use and alcohol consumption as a reason for its legalization. In fact, the law goes so far as to set the minimum age for marijuana use as the same as that for alcohol - 21 years old. Proponents of the law argued that marijuana use was as safe as or safer than alcohol use. The text of the initiative itself said that 317 people die annually from alcohol overdose, but there has never been a reported case of a marijuana overdose.
Other strong arguments can be made for the legalization of marijuana as well. Marijuana is often called a "gateway drug" - a drug whose use acts as a pathway to abuse of harder drugs. Some researchers claim that marijuana use triggers chemical processes that create a desire for harder drugs. That may be true, but marijuana's "gateway effect" also stems from a simpler mechanism - users must buy from drug dealers who also push harder drugs. If marijuana is legalized, users will buy it from a store, not a drug dealer, and thus will not have as easy access to other drugs.
This benefit extends further. Simple economics tell us that if marijuana users are able to buy their drugs from stores rather than drug dealers, there will not be any marijuana dealers left in the streets. There will certainly still be dealers selling other drugs, but controlling the sale of marijuana through legalization will drastically reduce drug dealers' and thus drug lords' stranglehold on society. It will even decrease the number of users of other drugs because some will switch to marijuana from other drugs since it will be cheaper and safer.
If marijuana was sold in legitimate stores, its sale could be regulated by the government much more easily and effectively than it is now. Just as the government heavily taxes alcohol and cigarettes, it would be able to tax marijuana to regulate its price. That extra tax revenue could then be directed toward drug treatment programs, for example.
There are drawbacks to legalizing marijuana. Even though it will be regulated, the price will still be less than the current street price so more people will use it. Use will also increase as people who were previously only deterred by the risk of punishment will try it. However, that use will be safer since the production process will be legal, regulated and purer.
People also point out the possible effects on society ? decreased productivity as people wander around stoned instead of showing up to work, for example. While the legalization would likely need to be timed to coincide with the beginning of a long weekend, most people will not walk away from their daily lives and routines just because marijuana is now legal. Also, companies will be able to regulate marijuana use just as they do alcohol use. People would get fired, for example, if they showed up to work high, just as if they showed up drunk.
While the legalization of marijuana is certainly a contentious issue, laws such as Denver's are just the tip of the iceburg of public reaction to outdated federal drug laws. We have been conditioned to believe that marijuana use is an abhorrent evil, but when we slow down and actually look at the facts, the situation looks much different.
Source: Tiger, The (Clemson U, SC Edu)
Copyright: 2005 The Tiger
Contact: editor@thetigernews.com
Website: The Tiger News: Top List, Net worth, Culture & Society Newspaper
