The push for legalizing marijuana has some star power behind it. From staunch conservatives like the late William Buckley, Jr. to libertarians like the late Milton Friedman, from Representative Barney Frank to musician Carlos Santana, public figures have lined up to legalize taking a toke.
Why do I, along with 60 percent of Americans, disagree? Although I can't speak for everyone, I think I can boil it down to a few factors. Legalization will increase government bureaucracy even more, it will increase the availability of drugs to underaged people and it will not seriously help crime or abuse rates.
Liberals dislike expansion of the government into the private sphere, while conservatives dislike its market-distorting effects and libertarians just hate it all. Well, we would get to see all sorts of bloated government if marijuana was legalized.
First, legalizing marijuana wouldn't mean the end of to the War on Drugs. There are several other drugs out there for the government to fight. Channels used for transporting marijuana are also used to move heavier drugs. Also, considering the high taxes that would undoubtedly be enforced on the marijuana trade, illegal operations could stay in business by undercutting the legal marketplace.
Second, regulatory agencies would inevitably spring up. Alcohol, tobacco and even children's toys are regulated by the federal government, and marijuana will certainly not get off the hook. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms would get a name change and another job to screw up.
Speaking of ATF, legalizing marijuana would make it easier for minors to access and abuse the drug. Right now underage drinking is a multibillion dollar market, so imagine how underage marijuana usage would end up. And for the most part, drug use starts in adolescence.
Results from the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health show that "adults who had first used substances at a younger age were more likely to be classified with dependence or abuse than adults who initiated use at a later age."
The tobacco industry has been accused of targeting underaged people because minors are more easily bated by tobacco than adults. This also holds true for drugs such as marijuana. Marijuana is nothing we want around kids, and legalizing it would certainly move the two menaces closer.
Let's be honest: Marijuana is not an innocent, harmless drug which does nothing wrong. It does nothing good to your lungs, works as a great de-motivator and can ruin your life. I have a friend who points out that if people were all smoking pot, they would never get into fights or do ridiculously stupid things. This might be true, but if everyone was smoking pot, no one would be doing anything else, either.
Contending that legalization would not increase marijuana use does not hold water. To paraphrase "Field Of Dreams," if you legalize it, they will come. Marijuana use would increase just as alcohol use jumped up after Prohibition ended.
Every marijuana advocate loves to bring up the Netherlands to show how great legalization is for a country. If it works that well, then why haven't other European countries followed its lead in the last three decades? Even the Dutch government has avoided actually legalizing marijuana, instead leaving it technically illegal since taking the policy of a "gedogen" - blind eye - towards weed. Surely 33 years of successful policy would have been expanded and exported to other countries.
Legalizing marijuana would not end the War on Drugs, but would increase government and create more trouble. We already have alcohol and tobacco around, why bring another drug into the mix?
Let the Dutch have their Mary Jane. I prefer my bourbon.
Frank Male is a senior in physics, political science and toolology. Please send comments to opinion@spub.ksu.edu.
35 comments
Thank you for bringing your compassion and consideration into this comment thread. You really opened up my mind (and my heart) regarding all of the world's problems. Just to think, here I was just an angry pot smoker who didn't have a care in the world aside from being able to get high legally. This viscous, highly coordinated attack required every one of us to come out of the woodwork and spend many hours vigorously researching legal and medical journals in hopes to counter any one of Mr. Male's fallacies and or very ironic opinions. Now here's your chance to counter any one of the posted rebuttals, but no, you would rather stand up in the face of reason and make a sweeping assumption simply because some people won't allow such ridiculous things to go undisputed. Your response was off topic, poorly written, and offered zero help to Mr. Male.
Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor and Franklin Pierce, and Ben Franklin. After Abe Lincoln's assassination, his wife was prescribed
hashish for her nerves. John F. Kennedy was known to smoke marijuana
for his back pain and to favor legalization. (Washington farm journals,
Jefferson diaries, national archives, etc.) Queen Victoria was prescribed cannabis for her menstrual cramps.
@revraygreen - twitter www.myspace.com/niceria
I fail to see how this is a polarizing political issue. I'm a conservative who believes in personal freedom and fiscal responsibility and you're the one saying that pot is worth spending millions of dollars on enforcing laws that are futile in addition to paying to keep those people incarcerated. The number one cash crop in the country is going to continue to be produced regardless of whether or not it's legal. Now we can either continue to waste money trying to fight it, or we can use it to balance the budget and take the funding away from the Mexican cartels. How many economists need to come forward and say this before you understand?
Based on your comments regarding homosexuals I'm guessing you probably would like to lock them up as well. Shouldn't you be protesting a soldier's funeral somewhere? Do me a favor and sterilize yourself.
Prohibition of the 1930s did not work, you can not force people to YOUR morale view.
Drug abuse should be treated as a health issue and not a criminal issue. You can kill all the brain cells you want with your bourbon... I don't drink I don't want to throw you in jail for it either. I should not be a criminal for making a smarter, safer choice.
As you enjoy your Bourbon sir remember, Prohibition was tried aleady and nothing good came of it. Instead there was a lot of violence much like what we are seeing in Mexico right now. Is doing drugs ok? No of course not! But this war on drugs is doing by far more bad then good.