Community | August 28, 2009 | 50 comments

Marijuana: Should it be legalized? Part II

source: http://www.examiner.com/x-20909-Columbia-Independent-Examiner~y2009m8d28-Marijuana-Should-it...

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copperdragon
In part one of this series we took a look at a couple of the key figures whose campaign of lies and propaganda helped stoke anti-marijuana sentiment among the American public. There were many more. Lawmakers who eventually voted to outlaw marijuana had little factual evidence to assist them in making their decision. The case that was layed out before them had almost no basis in fact. In part two we will look at the cost of marijuana prohibition, not just in dollars, but in destroyed lives.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, as of 2008 there were 2,310,984 prisoners were held in federal and state prisons, or in local jails. 20 percent of those were incarcerated for drug offenses. The latest DOJ statistics show that one in eight prisoners in the U.S. are jailed for marijuana-related offenses, at a cost of more than $1 billion a year.

The most recent FBI figures estimated that 786,545 people were arrested on marijuana charges in 2005. That number doubled in just over a decade. The vast majority, 696,074, were charged only for possession. The remaining 90,471 were charged with the sale or manufacture of marijuana. That includes people who were growing pot only for personal use.

Let me be clear, I am not attempting to portray marijuana as a totally harmless drug. But it is abundantly clear that it has less of a detrimental effect on its users than alcohol, or even tobacco.

Time magazine in a report last month said a study by the British medical journal, Lancet, showed that one in every 25 deaths worldwide can be attributed to alcohol. Alcohol-related causes of death included accidents, violence, poisoning, mouth and throat cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, suicide, stroke and several others. There are more than two million deaths reported annually as a result of alcohol.

The only single substance on Earth that causes more deaths than alcohol is tobacco. Worldwide more than 5 million deaths are attributed to tobacco use every year. 443,000 of those are in the U.S. alone, at a cost of $193 billion.

In comparison marijuana has never been listed as the official cause of even a single death. Not one. Ever. It is impossible to overdose on marijuana. Marijuana does not cause phyisical addiction, although it is true that some people do become psychologically addicted to the drug. Like alcohol, marijuana can be used responsibly and in moderation, or it can be abused and become the focus of some users' lives. The vast majority of users however say they have no problem using the drug and then putting it down for long periods of time, or quitting altogether.

More than 40 percent of all Americans say they have used marijuana at some point in their lives. 18 million people say they have used pot within the last year. Despite claims that marijuana is the primary "gateway drug" and leads to the use of harder and more dangerous drugs, most drug users report their first experience was with alcohol or tobacco. 60 percent of marijuana users say they have never tried any other drug.

The point is yes, some people do use marijuana irresponsibly. Yes, some do go on to use other drugs. But there is clear evidence that alcohol and tobacco are far more dangerous than marijuana. Most marijuana users lead very normal and productive lives. Far more so than alcolhol users. So why continue the charade that marijuana is such a threat to public health and safety? A marijuana possession conviction on an individual's record can do far more harm to them than the drug itself. A person sent to prison for simply smoking marijuana will face consequences in their future that can utterly destroy their lives.

What about cost of enforcing marijuana laws? Government figures reveal that we spend more than $10 billion a year. Yet there is no less marijuana available now than there ever has been. In fact in most areas of the country it is readily available at most times.

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50 comments // Marijuana: Should it be legalized? Part II

  • psaltseller
    • 0
      psaltseller  

    • So where are all these logical voices for legalization (or, at the VERY least, decriminalization) come election time? There are states where it took decades to get medical marijuana legal, and some states where it is still a long way away. But people sign the petitions to get the motions on the ballot. They just don't manage to make it to the polls [insert tasteless "too toasted to vote" joke here].

      There is a decent constituency on a national level, but the usual patchwork of local and state regs keeps the possibility of meaningful Federal legislation very very distant.

    • 2 years ago
  • MinneapolisMafia
  • specked
    • 0
      specked  

    • The gateway drug excuse doesn't hold up to logic. Under the same argument milk is a gateway drug to alcohol.

      I think the real issue is privatization of prisons and the unfortunate result of any group getting too big. I'm talking about the corrections union. Both of these groups (the corrections union and corporate prisons) have turned our legal system into a prison industry. As such it is in their best interests to get more people into jail and keep them there longer.

      What ever happened to the punishment fitting the crime? In my opinion the only people who deserve to be locked away are those who have committed acts of violence.

    • 2 years ago
  • MinneapolisMafia
  • MinneapolisMafia
  • MinneapolisMafia
    • 0
      MinneapolisMafia  

    • I would like to see some good old insults in writing on the photo of the 3 meat sacks in the photo.LOL 3 stooges! Let me kick 'er off nasty like! I have more respect and reverence for the life of a fish caught for sport or dinner than for any one or all three of these shit head pigs in the photo! LOL Lets just lay it out here millions of peaceful respectful cannabis consumers/growers lives ruined by cops governments and anyone that supports the war on cannabis. Let me be clear. I am in no way standing in the way of the police when delivering justice to anyone that is violent. But for the many, MANY fine peaceful, productive people that grow and use ethically produced cannabis that lives have been ruined by the unjust drug war I call for an eye for an eye! As I do for some idiot that trades in the black market created by the drug war and uses violence to protect there operation. People that use violence either criminal or cop deserve their karma. As a 21 year cannabis grower and user (not now due to legal issues) I will sleep well tonight, will You.

      Obama Raids Marijuana 'Rastafarian' Church, Two Other Dispensaries, Kills Dog - August 2009

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8beLMboDbE

      New American Revolution

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsHFwrwdQ-0

      The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - Original Version

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS3QOtbW4m0

    • 2 years ago
  • MinneapolisMafia
    • 0
      MinneapolisMafia  

    • LOL! Truth is I would give ya a hug and offer a nice meal and some ganja! ;-) Never have seen any violence connected with anyone I know or anything to do with ganja.... seen plenty of violence from the cops and military..... anyway be well.....

    • 2 years ago
  • cztheday
    • 0
      cztheday  

    • Phew! Sounds like you have a handle on it, then. I was afraid you were some kind of new organoterrorist (no, not oregeno terrorist) who thought that plants had the same rights as humans or something. My mistake.

      Not coming near your cannibis, Mr. Green Jeans, consume in good health!

    • 2 years ago
  • MinneapolisMafia
  • MinneapolisMafia
    • 0
      MinneapolisMafia  

    • Cz' No confusion here. A carrot grown in my yard and ate by me never enters into any market. My cannabis should be the same. O and stay out of my yard or I'll shoot ya and bury ya for fert in my garden. ;-) hugs and bunnies!

    • 2 years ago
  • cztheday
    • 0
      cztheday  

    • MinnMafia,

      Sigh. I know that you have persuaded yourself somehow that the law does not apply to "natural plants." I can tell you with absolute, 100%, if I am lyin' I am dyin' CERTAINTY that no such distinction exists in the law...and never has -- but I suspect that you will not be convinced.

      Think tobacco, for example. We have a federal agency that has the word tobacco in its NAME, for heaven's sake. Of COURSE there are legal rules and regulations governing tobacco and its distribution. Once a plant is sold enters the stream of interstate commerce (and damned near all of them do) the federal constition's interstate commerce clause kicks in...and that is, as they say, all she wrote. I am sorry if this makes you angry -- but if you are angry at ME all I can say is that the ship sailed on this issue decades before I was even born...I am just trying to clear away any confusion on the issue.

    • 2 years ago
  • MinneapolisMafia
    • 0
      MinneapolisMafia  

    • NO! Natural plants shouldn't even mentioned on LAw books! The f'in Governernment should stay out of our lives!
      http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/599/mexico_argentina_drug_decriminalization
      *my response to that article-
      This is NOTHING! This gives small time users the ability to carry a little bit with to the bar for the legal deadly alcohol to wash down these other less harmful drugs (except meth). This keeps all the drug money flowing towards the biggest drug lords of them all the CIA and other big Government agencies while keeping the option open to bust any smaller drug dealers any time 'they' wish if the small cartels are cutting into there profit and or amassing to much power. Any ganja user that I have ever known usually has at least 7-14 grams on them!? 5 grams is when your looking to buy another ounce! And if your a spiritual sacrament haoma style user you usually buy by the pound! This is a sideways move at best that gives small time users the option to carry small amounts while the people that really use ganja, schrooms for spiritual sacraments and make cannabis holy anointing oil to cure cancer and other healing uses still are at huge risk!? But hey as long as the money ends up back at the bank and the prisons keep filling up and the cops, lawyers, judges, prisons keep turning a profit????? This is intellectual grazing for sheep to feed on and think they won some sort of victory!
      Decriminalize all drugs especially natural plants! The governments should have NOTHING to do with natural plants! Stay out of our lives! NO TAXES NO LAWS against plants!
      Where are the responses to the important cannabis related post of mine!?
      http://current.com/items/90807144_rick-simpsons-internet-seminar-crush-cancer-wi...

    • 2 years ago
  • MistressOfJade
    • 0
      MistressOfJade  

    • Never used the stuff but c'mon people... Alcohol is even worse. I have never heard of anyone on weed crashing and killing a family of four.
      And if some call it a gateway drug... well, then maybe those people need to learn not to be so easily influenced.

    • 2 years ago
  • jkudurog
    • 0
      jkudurog  

    • I don't blame the cops... they're just doing their jobs... I blame the lawmakers. I say we demand a drug test on all of them... I wonder how many would still be pissing their coke from the night before?

    • 2 years ago
  • jkudurog
    • 0
      jkudurog  

    • These propaganda stories look like they have been taken straight from a govt. funded website. I can't believe people are actually willing to tell a story about how marijuana ruined their sons life. Marijuana didn't ruin your sons life.... your son ruined your son's life. I smoked a lot in high school and did just fine for myself. I'm sick of people not owning their own $hitfests.

    • 2 years ago
  • toolcake
    • 0
      toolcake  

    • And whoever is arguing that it ruined that teenagers life in that book...NO CRAP!! Where were the parents?!? Marijuana, if legalized, should NOT be legal to teens. The same reason you have to be 21 to drink. A teenager is not responsible enough to use ANY mind altering substance. You can argue the ease of access will increase if legalized, but believe me it's not hard to find. Just ask Michael Phelps lol

    • 2 years ago
  • pandaman2105
    • 0
      pandaman2105  
    • toolcake:

      very true...i'd expect it to have an age limit just like regular tobacco.

      it can't be stressed enough how much worse alcohol and long-term tobacco use is.

      people can control their pot use and keep it in moderation. i know plenty of people who do and you'd never know it if you asked them.

    • 2 years ago
  • timetosee
  • toolcake
    • 0
      toolcake  

    • I'm not a pothead but I do occasionally use. I do not use other drugs. I am a father and a very responsible adult...never had one automobile accident or committed any crimes. I lost a very good job because of a random drug test and since then I've gone through about 4 dreadful temp jobs. I refuse to altogether quit but it seems that every job out there has a pre-employment drug test. Let's fight to legalize this herb, so that we may use our gov't money to fight real drugs like heroin, meth, crack, etc.

    • 2 years ago
  • MCBOSTON
  • Sashums
    • 0
      Sashums  

    • Pesky pigs think the accomplished something by confiscating a couple bags of weed, look at them all proud.. theres prob some one in that same neighborhood getting robbed/rapped/shot and they are posing with a lil bit of weed and some zig zags how could they be so proud?

    • 2 years ago
  • Derrick_Cisneros
  • alf_d_guard
  • goldhammer
    • 0
      goldhammer  

    • I don't have a strong opinion about marijuana, but I caution that an argument about crime is not a simple one.

      For real drug dealers, it doesn't matter whether the product is weed, meth or cocaine (or women, children, migrants, etc). The issue of a person selling drugs is an often an attempt to enter the economy without wanting to/being able to overcome some thresholds of legitimate business. For an economically marginalized person, the point _is_ that mj is illegal, so that they can participate in wealth creation via the black market. If cannabis were legalized, they would very likely be selling an alternate illegal substance.

      In my mind the real 'crime' is the growing inequality gap, without a social safety net and combined with a one-and-done (or 3-strikes) policy. so that we are quite literally warehousing the poor, rather than provide quality, low cost housing, health care and public transportation.

      For many people economic catastrophe becomes so likely that crime becomes nearly unavoidable.

      About the 420? Suit yourself.
      /goldhammer.

    • 2 years ago
  • Highr0ller
  • Sashums
    • 0
      Sashums  
    • Highr0ller:

      Marijuana will would not be legal for kids to consume and ok it might have some side effects but alcohol is legal and it has much worse side effects than weed like first of all YOU CAN DIE from alcohol poisoning!!!NEVER FROM EXCESSIVE SMOKING OF POT
      -Liver disease
      -Heart or respiratory failure. Excessive drinking can have serious results. Heart or respiratory failure often means death.
      -Finally, lets not forget alcoholism. Alcoholism is a disease to which some people seem predisposed. Alcoholics are unable to control their drinking--how much, when, and if. Alcoholism puts you at great risk for other health problems, and it can shorten your life by more than 10 years. Alcoholism cannot be cured, but it can be treated.
      -Hangovers. Headaches, nausea, vomiting, aches and pains all result from drinking too much. Drinking to the point of drunkenness makes you sick

      So why is alcohol legal still? when its more toxic/dangerous

    • 2 years ago
  • Highr0ller
  • delas78
  • annabell
  • GodsnConservatives
  • jkudurog
    • 0
      jkudurog  
    • Highr0ller:

      Keep your propaganda to yourself. The death probably had nothing to do with pot. I can tell you from experience.... any strain out there still isn't toxic no matter how much you smoke.

    • 2 years ago
  • kurthsb27
    • 0
      kurthsb27  
    • Highr0ller:

      the government sells a prescription pill that has 100% THC content in it. so do some reasearch and quit being a blind sheep.

      Dronabinol, the active ingredient in MARINOL® (dronabinol) Capsules, is synthetic delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-THC). Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol is also a naturally occurring component of Cannabis sativa L. (Marijuana).

      The DEA helped facilitate the research on Marinol. The National Cancer Institute approached the DEA in the early 1980s regarding their study of THC's in relieving nausea and vomiting. As a result, the DEA facilitated the registration and provided regulatory support and guidance for the study.

      the bottom line is its ok to take the governments drugs but its not ok to take the drug of my choice.

    • 2 years ago
  • samthesixth
    • 0
      samthesixth  

    • Why couldn't Obama do it? The Dems control govt. If they really wanted to, there would be a bill. So, they must be hypocrites who pay lip service to the issue to get votes---just like the Republicans. Hmmmmm..........

    • 2 years ago
  • delas78
  • psaltseller
    • 0
      psaltseller  
    • samthesixth:

      Actually, Senate seat #60 is being buried in a couple of days. Not that it makes a lot, the so-called Blue Dog Democrats have been successfully holding a lot of legislation back, and it's not a lot better in the House.

      Out of the last 30 years, we have had over 20 under an Imperial Presidency system. Obama (possibly the only POTUS in that long to actually understand the Constitution) is trying to get the branches and their subunits to work properly. And he's getting hammered from all sides for it.

      Yesterday a candidate for Governor in Idaho made jokes about issuing "Obama Tags" in the same manner as hunters have to buy "deer tags" ...... and he's proud of it! At the same time, when the Justice Department is told "here's what I want, but you have to do it, because that's what the Constitution says", the left gets all shirty about "why not just make a proclamation?" Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II are gone. Why do people want them back?

    • 2 years ago
  • TopScruffy
    • 0
      TopScruffy  
    • samthesixth:

      holy shit i didnt know butch otter said that!!!!!!

      i dont understand how all these republicans use the term "shoved down throats" and say obama has absolute power and they dont even realize several democrats have abandoned the left.

    • 2 years ago
  • hunzedog
    • 0
      hunzedog  

    • VIOLENCE WORKS JUST FINE FOR THEM.. The inhuman treatment , the lies. like that girl they got killed in florida in that drug bust. how they can make people narc and lie to do whatever they want. you can kick a dog in a corner only for so long. look at the smiles on those cocksuckers faces. how many lives have they ruined for greed. Where do they get the right to go against the will of the people. its legal in california and the feds still bust em for greed....
      IM SORRY, BUT PLAY PUSSIE AND YOU WILL GET FUCKED ! i am so tired of this shit. I do not know what to do.....but i see lots of other Americans waking up.
      all these so called tea parties arent just about healthcare anymore. its about Americans standing up for what they believe in. Maybe the Cannabis Tree needs to be watered by the blood of these TYRANTS !

    • 2 years ago
  • thewallisgirl
  • GodsnConservatives
    • 0
      GodsnConservatives  

    • I believe marijuana is harmless, but let's not lead the fight with that argument, for it justifies them in restricting access to whatever else they deem "dangerous" until proven harmless (kind of the opposite of the innocent-until-proven-guilty mantra).

      The fact of the matter is that we don't need a babysitter. We are all adults capable of making our own decisions.

      The troubling thing is that there is an overwhelming amount of people who want it legalized, yet Obama just thinks we're all a joke as he implied in his town hall meeting when the question came up.

      Just say no to the nanny-state!!

      Does anyone here see a clear path we can take to legalization? Is this something that we'll need to organize a million-man march on Congress for to get our point across? If so, someone needs to take the reins and lead us out of this oppression.

    • 2 years ago
  • Roger_Densley
    • 0
      Roger_Densley  

    • This is such an important issue to me because two peoples lives that are very close to me have been ruined because of the crazy war on drugs, and I don't mean legal problems, I mean dead. Their stories are too long to leave in this response box so if you have any interest in this subject read my blog site for my comments on marijuana. For fear that a few might get some enjoyment from marijuana many will lead lives of misery. Read rogerdensley.com

    • 2 years ago
  • hunzedog
    • 0
      hunzedog  

    • Marijuana Saved my Life !
      Then Federal Manditory Minimums ruined my LIFE !
      no votes no guns no student loans no rights.
      but child molesters and murderers can ^^^^^
      no chance of getting a job that requres a application
      I Love my Country but I Loath my Government !
      The people have spoken and they want reform !
      But the Government and the Media just ignore US.
      The War on Drugs is a War on Americans.
      Oh well, my side has 100 Million people on it.
      march on

    • 2 years ago
  • samthesixth
  • TopScruffy
  • samthesixth
    • 0
      samthesixth  
    • hunzedog:

      Topscruffy,

      I don't care what you think of me but your ignorance is evident. She has supported restoring voting rights to minority felons because she believes it violates the Civil Rights Act.

    • 2 years ago
  • TopScruffy
  • samthesixth
  • MinneapolisMafia
  • delas78
    • 0
      delas78  

    • "gateway drug"

      This argument has always frustrated me.

      They're pretty much saying "Yes, it's pretty much harmless, but it could potentially lead to the potential abuse of another drug."

      Whatever happened to Liberty?

    • 2 years ago
  • hpseaton
    • 0
      hpseaton  

    • YES! Legalize it now!
      And this from someone who has never even used pot...but the evidence is so overwhelming that it demands legalization.

    • 2 years ago
  • ogee
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