Legalize it, all of it.
Let me make very clear that I do not advocate most drug use; I think that using some drugs is generally bad. I have never used "recreational" drugs in my life, ever. I think our society would be better off if many drugs didn't exist; but they do, and there is a demand for them, so they continue to be manufactured and sold.
Prohibiting and controlling drugs does not stop some people from having the desire for them, that is unlikely to go away; as long as these desires exists there will be a demand and market for them, and some folks will be willing to meet that demand, whether it's legal or not.
Self-Ownership
Do you believe that you own yourself? If you truly own yourself, then you are free to keep yourself as fit or as fat as you want. If you truly own yourself, then you are free to put into your body what you want, be it apples or marijuana.
The principle here is self-ownership; you own and are in charge of yourself. Because of this, you are responsible for yourself (provided that you have the mental capacity to be) and are free to make good or bad choices, provided that those choices don't violate the liberties of other people. Using harmful drugs is generally a bad choice in my opinion, but it is one that you have the right to make as it harms yourself directly, just like eating too much fatty food or listening to your Ipod at full volume all day.
Obviously, there are social consequences of using drugs and the possibility of becoming addicted; you may be ostracized from friends and relatives, if you have people financially depended on you they may be negatively affected. There will be indirect effects on people from your actions no matter what you do, these cannot necessarily be controlled or measured, that's why the focus is on the actions you can control; your own.
Legalize Marijuana
It's harder for the general public to hear the message of "legalize ALL drugs", it's not something that is often heard, therefore I will focus on the legalization of marijuana, though the arguments for it's legalization will apply to other drugs like he*oin, coc*ine, m*th etc.
Though is has been shown that there are medicinal benefits to marijuana, the reason for it's legalization is still based on the principle of self-ownership, but I will look at some of the common arguments for and against it, while still holding the self-ownership principle as the main reason for why it should be legalized.
Decriminalization of Marijuana in Canada
* Marijuana was first banned in Canada in 1923 under the Opium and Drug Act. Since 1997 marijuana has been covered by the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
* In 2000 over 30,000 Canadians were charged with simple possession of marijuana, according to the Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs.
* Current laws are enforced unevenly across the country.
* Most of those convicted of possession of marijuana do not go to jail, but do receive a criminal record.
Think of the waste that goes into policing drug users. 30,000 people in Canada charged ever year. That means that every one of those people were dealt with by police, then entered into the system, paid fines, court dates, etc. The amount of bureaucracy needed to deal with this is staggering. Now, all of those people have criminal records. They will have a harder time getting a job, crossing borders, finding suitable housing, etc., all because they choose to put something into their body. That is not good for them or good for the rest of society as they may end up drawing on welfare or other socialized programs becasue of the lack of opportunities a criminal record may bring them.
So the point comes up, then why do them? As a non-marijuana user I cannot answer that, other to say that people have been suing this substance for many years, and it's illegal nature has not dettered many of them or halted the drug trade. To some folks the risk is worth it.
Every April 20 at the Legislature here in Winnipeg, you will find thousands of people lighting a blunt in open protest of the illegality of marijuana, yet there aren't swarms of police coming down to break it up. Yet they will spend time going after people in their homes, on the street, etc. Why this inconsistency? Even the police realize that possessing marijuana is not a serious enough offense to warrant shutting down this peaceful protest. This seems like an inconsistent, hypocritical position.
The problem isn't the police, it is the law, and the beaurocrats that make the law.
The Government are Drug Dealers
Speaking of hypocritical positions, even though growing, possessing and distributing marijuana is illegal, the Canadian government continues to do it to this day.
Health Canada looking for marijuana grower
Government pot is grown in an abandoned mine in Flin Flon, Manitoba, and used for medicinal marijuana. The use of marijuana for medicinal purposes has been well established, and Health Canada recognizes and approves its use.
Health Canada - Medical Use of Marihuana
Health Canada grants access to marihuana for medical use to those who are suffering from grave and debilitating illnesses.
Yet, you aren't allowed to grow your own medicine if you so choose, the government has to do it for you and give you a piece of paper that allows you to have it. Why is the goverment in the medicine business? Is there Province of Manitoba brand ibuprophen? No one else is allowed to provide this approved medicine, only the government.
This is another government monopoly like Manitoba Lotteries and MPI, making the bearuocracy larger, demanding tax money to grow pot.
I wonder how someone who is against the legalization of marjiana would feel knowing that they are paying to grow and distribute it.
Prohibition
What would happen if pot was legalized? We can look at history to find out. In the early 1900's alcohol manufacturing, distribution and possession was made illegal all over North America.
When something is outlawed, it creates a black market for that product or service. When something is in the black market it inherently becomes more dangerous because it needs to be under the radar of law enforcement. It becomes the product of gangs and organized crime, and prices get very high, and violent crime surrounds it. This is what happened with alcohol prohibition; people didn't stop drinking, they just had to do it underground. Once alcohol prohibition ended, so did the violence and crime surrounding it's manufacture and distribution. Do we currently see turf wars or gang crime with alcohol distribution? No, it went away when prohibition went away. The same thing would happen if the prohibition against marijuana was ended.
Let's look at this realistically. If marijuana wasn't prohibited, how would people get it? Likely the same way people get alcohol and tobacco; large companies will grow and sell it and you can buy it at the corner store. Plus, you will have companies selling "home growing kits" so you can grow your own. You won't need to buy it on the street under threat of arrest and the prices would be lower because there will be a large, safe supply and legal ways of obtaining it.
If people could choose between a drug store or a thug on the street, where would they be likely to go to buy marijuana?
Arguments Against Legalization
* when illicit drugs are legalized, drug use increases
* marijuana is a gateway drug to harder drugs
* decriminalization would send conflicting messages to young people
* marijuana is harmful
If murder wasn't on the books as being illegal, would people murder each other? Laws don't dictate behavior, marijuana is illegal right now yet people still use it, the law doesn't stop that. If it was legalized, people who were going to do it will still do it, and people who weren't going to do it won't. There is a taboo in doing something illegal, and once that taboo is gone, then a small part of the thrill is gone.
In September 2007, the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse reported that marijuana use in teens have gone up.
(marijuana use)use is reported by 17 per cent of students in grades 7 to 9, about 29 per cent of 15- to 17-year-olds, and almost half of 18- to 19-year-olds
Would arresting 50% of Canadian teens do them any good? How would that help them in life? It won't stop them from using the drug, just put them into the legal system and make it harder to move forward with a productive life.
Let's look at a place where pot is less restricted, Amsterdam and some of Australia. The usage of marijuana in those areas is actually lower than that of the U.S.
Marijuana Prohibition Has Not Curtailed Marijuana Use by Adolescents
This report shows that the prohibition of marijuana in the United States has not curtailed adolescent marijuana use.
United States The Netherlands
Total Population 31.1 [a] 28.5
Young Adults 47.3 [c] 45.5 [d]
Older Teens 38.2 [e] 29.5 [f]
Younger Teens 13.5 [g] 7.2 [h]
To say that legalizing marijuana would lead to an increase in use is not what the evidence shows.
In March 2009,the Cato Institute put out a report about the success of drug decriminalization in Portugal.
Evaluating the policy strictly from an empirical perspective, decriminalization has been an unquestionable success, leading to improvements in virtually every relevant category and enabling Portugal to manage drug-related problems (and drug usage rates) far better than most Western nations that continue to treat adult drug consumption as a criminal offense.
You can see the policy forum and presentation of this report at the Cato Institute website.
Also, to call marijuana a "gateway" drug is misleading. Using marijuana does not mean that you will then use, coc*ine, he*oin or other harmful drugs. It is most of then the first one that people will use because it is the most common and least expensive. Calling marijuana a gateway drug is like calling beer a gateway drink that means you will start misusing alcohol and more potent drinks, it is not necessarily true. Most people first encounter beer, it is less expensive than harder drinks so it is naturally what would be encountered first.
As for sending "conflicting messages" to young people, I say, let them make up their own mind. The message we can send is that some things are good for you, some things are bad, you choose which you'd like to do. In fact, I wouldn't call marijuana "bad", no more than I would call having a beer "bad". I'm going to teach my children to choose for themselves, no conflicting message there.
The argument that marijuana is harmful doesn't stand up either. Yes, it can cause some harm to the body, but if we were to outlaw things that were harmful then perhaps we should be outlawing salt, butter, etc. By this reasoning, anything harmful to an individual should be prohibited. Well, then here are a few other things that should be banned then.
* 4000 people die per year in Canada in car accidents. — ban cars
* 6,700 deaths from alcohol — ban alcohol
* 33,5000 from tobacco - ban cigarettes
* 732 deaths due to use of illicit drugs — wow, a lot less than cars
* How many deaths from marijuana? 0
* reference Drugs and Drug Policy in Canada
If we truly own ourselves, then we are the ones that choose what we can and can't put into our bodies. If we choose to harm ourselves with drugs, or salt, or getting fat, then that is also our choice.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Western Standard
Author: Scott Carnegie
Contact: Western Standard
Copyright: 2009 Western Standard
Website: Legalize It
Let me make very clear that I do not advocate most drug use; I think that using some drugs is generally bad. I have never used "recreational" drugs in my life, ever. I think our society would be better off if many drugs didn't exist; but they do, and there is a demand for them, so they continue to be manufactured and sold.
Prohibiting and controlling drugs does not stop some people from having the desire for them, that is unlikely to go away; as long as these desires exists there will be a demand and market for them, and some folks will be willing to meet that demand, whether it's legal or not.
Self-Ownership
Do you believe that you own yourself? If you truly own yourself, then you are free to keep yourself as fit or as fat as you want. If you truly own yourself, then you are free to put into your body what you want, be it apples or marijuana.
The principle here is self-ownership; you own and are in charge of yourself. Because of this, you are responsible for yourself (provided that you have the mental capacity to be) and are free to make good or bad choices, provided that those choices don't violate the liberties of other people. Using harmful drugs is generally a bad choice in my opinion, but it is one that you have the right to make as it harms yourself directly, just like eating too much fatty food or listening to your Ipod at full volume all day.
Obviously, there are social consequences of using drugs and the possibility of becoming addicted; you may be ostracized from friends and relatives, if you have people financially depended on you they may be negatively affected. There will be indirect effects on people from your actions no matter what you do, these cannot necessarily be controlled or measured, that's why the focus is on the actions you can control; your own.
Legalize Marijuana
It's harder for the general public to hear the message of "legalize ALL drugs", it's not something that is often heard, therefore I will focus on the legalization of marijuana, though the arguments for it's legalization will apply to other drugs like he*oin, coc*ine, m*th etc.
Though is has been shown that there are medicinal benefits to marijuana, the reason for it's legalization is still based on the principle of self-ownership, but I will look at some of the common arguments for and against it, while still holding the self-ownership principle as the main reason for why it should be legalized.
Decriminalization of Marijuana in Canada
* Marijuana was first banned in Canada in 1923 under the Opium and Drug Act. Since 1997 marijuana has been covered by the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
* In 2000 over 30,000 Canadians were charged with simple possession of marijuana, according to the Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs.
* Current laws are enforced unevenly across the country.
* Most of those convicted of possession of marijuana do not go to jail, but do receive a criminal record.
Think of the waste that goes into policing drug users. 30,000 people in Canada charged ever year. That means that every one of those people were dealt with by police, then entered into the system, paid fines, court dates, etc. The amount of bureaucracy needed to deal with this is staggering. Now, all of those people have criminal records. They will have a harder time getting a job, crossing borders, finding suitable housing, etc., all because they choose to put something into their body. That is not good for them or good for the rest of society as they may end up drawing on welfare or other socialized programs becasue of the lack of opportunities a criminal record may bring them.
So the point comes up, then why do them? As a non-marijuana user I cannot answer that, other to say that people have been suing this substance for many years, and it's illegal nature has not dettered many of them or halted the drug trade. To some folks the risk is worth it.
Every April 20 at the Legislature here in Winnipeg, you will find thousands of people lighting a blunt in open protest of the illegality of marijuana, yet there aren't swarms of police coming down to break it up. Yet they will spend time going after people in their homes, on the street, etc. Why this inconsistency? Even the police realize that possessing marijuana is not a serious enough offense to warrant shutting down this peaceful protest. This seems like an inconsistent, hypocritical position.
The problem isn't the police, it is the law, and the beaurocrats that make the law.
The Government are Drug Dealers
Speaking of hypocritical positions, even though growing, possessing and distributing marijuana is illegal, the Canadian government continues to do it to this day.
Health Canada looking for marijuana grower
Government pot is grown in an abandoned mine in Flin Flon, Manitoba, and used for medicinal marijuana. The use of marijuana for medicinal purposes has been well established, and Health Canada recognizes and approves its use.
Health Canada - Medical Use of Marihuana
Health Canada grants access to marihuana for medical use to those who are suffering from grave and debilitating illnesses.
Yet, you aren't allowed to grow your own medicine if you so choose, the government has to do it for you and give you a piece of paper that allows you to have it. Why is the goverment in the medicine business? Is there Province of Manitoba brand ibuprophen? No one else is allowed to provide this approved medicine, only the government.
This is another government monopoly like Manitoba Lotteries and MPI, making the bearuocracy larger, demanding tax money to grow pot.
I wonder how someone who is against the legalization of marjiana would feel knowing that they are paying to grow and distribute it.
Prohibition
What would happen if pot was legalized? We can look at history to find out. In the early 1900's alcohol manufacturing, distribution and possession was made illegal all over North America.
When something is outlawed, it creates a black market for that product or service. When something is in the black market it inherently becomes more dangerous because it needs to be under the radar of law enforcement. It becomes the product of gangs and organized crime, and prices get very high, and violent crime surrounds it. This is what happened with alcohol prohibition; people didn't stop drinking, they just had to do it underground. Once alcohol prohibition ended, so did the violence and crime surrounding it's manufacture and distribution. Do we currently see turf wars or gang crime with alcohol distribution? No, it went away when prohibition went away. The same thing would happen if the prohibition against marijuana was ended.
Let's look at this realistically. If marijuana wasn't prohibited, how would people get it? Likely the same way people get alcohol and tobacco; large companies will grow and sell it and you can buy it at the corner store. Plus, you will have companies selling "home growing kits" so you can grow your own. You won't need to buy it on the street under threat of arrest and the prices would be lower because there will be a large, safe supply and legal ways of obtaining it.
If people could choose between a drug store or a thug on the street, where would they be likely to go to buy marijuana?
Arguments Against Legalization
* when illicit drugs are legalized, drug use increases
* marijuana is a gateway drug to harder drugs
* decriminalization would send conflicting messages to young people
* marijuana is harmful
If murder wasn't on the books as being illegal, would people murder each other? Laws don't dictate behavior, marijuana is illegal right now yet people still use it, the law doesn't stop that. If it was legalized, people who were going to do it will still do it, and people who weren't going to do it won't. There is a taboo in doing something illegal, and once that taboo is gone, then a small part of the thrill is gone.
In September 2007, the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse reported that marijuana use in teens have gone up.
(marijuana use)use is reported by 17 per cent of students in grades 7 to 9, about 29 per cent of 15- to 17-year-olds, and almost half of 18- to 19-year-olds
Would arresting 50% of Canadian teens do them any good? How would that help them in life? It won't stop them from using the drug, just put them into the legal system and make it harder to move forward with a productive life.
Let's look at a place where pot is less restricted, Amsterdam and some of Australia. The usage of marijuana in those areas is actually lower than that of the U.S.
Marijuana Prohibition Has Not Curtailed Marijuana Use by Adolescents
This report shows that the prohibition of marijuana in the United States has not curtailed adolescent marijuana use.
United States The Netherlands
Total Population 31.1 [a] 28.5
Young Adults 47.3 [c] 45.5 [d]
Older Teens 38.2 [e] 29.5 [f]
Younger Teens 13.5 [g] 7.2 [h]
To say that legalizing marijuana would lead to an increase in use is not what the evidence shows.
In March 2009,the Cato Institute put out a report about the success of drug decriminalization in Portugal.
Evaluating the policy strictly from an empirical perspective, decriminalization has been an unquestionable success, leading to improvements in virtually every relevant category and enabling Portugal to manage drug-related problems (and drug usage rates) far better than most Western nations that continue to treat adult drug consumption as a criminal offense.
You can see the policy forum and presentation of this report at the Cato Institute website.
Also, to call marijuana a "gateway" drug is misleading. Using marijuana does not mean that you will then use, coc*ine, he*oin or other harmful drugs. It is most of then the first one that people will use because it is the most common and least expensive. Calling marijuana a gateway drug is like calling beer a gateway drink that means you will start misusing alcohol and more potent drinks, it is not necessarily true. Most people first encounter beer, it is less expensive than harder drinks so it is naturally what would be encountered first.
As for sending "conflicting messages" to young people, I say, let them make up their own mind. The message we can send is that some things are good for you, some things are bad, you choose which you'd like to do. In fact, I wouldn't call marijuana "bad", no more than I would call having a beer "bad". I'm going to teach my children to choose for themselves, no conflicting message there.
The argument that marijuana is harmful doesn't stand up either. Yes, it can cause some harm to the body, but if we were to outlaw things that were harmful then perhaps we should be outlawing salt, butter, etc. By this reasoning, anything harmful to an individual should be prohibited. Well, then here are a few other things that should be banned then.
* 4000 people die per year in Canada in car accidents. — ban cars
* 6,700 deaths from alcohol — ban alcohol
* 33,5000 from tobacco - ban cigarettes
* 732 deaths due to use of illicit drugs — wow, a lot less than cars
* How many deaths from marijuana? 0
* reference Drugs and Drug Policy in Canada
If we truly own ourselves, then we are the ones that choose what we can and can't put into our bodies. If we choose to harm ourselves with drugs, or salt, or getting fat, then that is also our choice.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Western Standard
Author: Scott Carnegie
Contact: Western Standard
Copyright: 2009 Western Standard
Website: Legalize It
