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What's The Point Of Legalizing Weed?

Victor Figueroa |
December 25, 2013 | 11:09 a.m. PST

Contributor

Legalizing marijuana fundamentally doesn't help the individual function better in everyday life. (Toke of the Town)
Legalizing marijuana fundamentally doesn't help the individual function better in everyday life. (Toke of the Town)

When it comes to legalizing marijuana in California­­, both sides always have an answer for one another.

Opponents claim weed is addictive and harmful. But proponents say marijuana can help cure cancer.

Pro-legalizers think legalization will eliminate pot dealers and hurt Mexican cartels. But anti-legalizers believe there will still be a marijuana black market and that cartels don’t generate enough revenue from weed for its legalization to be detrimental to their operations.

For me, the arguments cancel each other out. I believe smoking marijuana has positive and negative consequences. And like most medicines or substances, marijuana should be taken in safe, manageable amounts. But I guess that’s where the problem arises and in large part what I addressed in a previous article, "The Never-Ending Marijuana Debate."

People can’t agree on how marijuana should be administered, regulated and used, leading to the ultimate question: should the government make recreational marijuana use legal?

Yes, marijuana is less addicting, less harmful, and from my experience, less troublesome than alcohol or cigarettes. Also, people seem more cautious in their inebriated state after smoking marijuana than they are drinking alcohol (I think it's because it’s more socially acceptable to be glaringly high than obviously drunk). So in theory it would be better if marijuana were substituted for alcohol, but I fear such a transition would never take place.

Going to school in the quaint town of Odenton, Maryland, I found that some of my classmates regularly drank while others regularly smoked. But there were those who did both, and I worry that legalizing marijuana would only increase the number of people who abused both substances. Just like old habits, old traditions die-hard. And as bad as it may be, underage drinking is a part of American culture that won’t simply disappear with the legalization of marijuana.

So in Maryland, I certainly think legalizing marijuana would increase substance abuse by kids, which seems to be one of the bigger overall concerns of marijuana opponents. But Maryland is very different from California. When it comes to California, marijuana is so accessible that I agree with proponents in that usage rates among adolescents would barely go up if it were legalized. And at least youngsters wouldn’t be worried about damaging marks on their criminal record.

But then I keep asking myself the one question John Lovell, lobbyist for the California Narcotic Officers' Association, stated during a phone interview: how will society and the lives of school children improve if only marijuana were made legal?

Despite my belief that, holistically, the pro-legalizers have better arguments than marijuana opponents, the fact is that legalizing recreational marijuana fundamentally doesn't help an individual function better in everyday life.

An argument I often hear is that no one has ever overdosed from smoking too much pot. But can anyone say that marijuana isn’t going to become more chemically dangerous if it were legalized? Today’s joint isn't the stuff Grandpa used to smoke back in the 60s and 70s. It’s exponentially more potent in THC, the compound that impairs users. If marijuana were legalized, I think sellers will up the THC content in marijuana in order to stay competitive, and while THC itself isn't going to make anyone keel over, someone that's impaired faster and longer is likely to hurt his/herself or someone else due to a lack of clear judgment.

What could be said then? I am not ready to compare the value of a person's life to the enjoyment of marijuana users, even if they smoke responsibly.

What I do believe in is the continued use of marijuana for medical use. Unfortunately, California has done a terrible job regulating it... well, at least in Los Angeles. There are 850 dispensaries in Los Angeles (the number varies depending on report) and legislation like Proposition D has done little to curb this number. Even more atrocious is how medical marijuana was legalized in 1996 on the backs of those who clearly weren’t suffering from any chronic ailment, and were looking at the legislation as the first step to getting the drug legalized recreationally.

There just hasn’t been enough studies and research done on marijuana, as most Americans are still operating in gray and don't know all that marijuana has to offer or take away.

Ultimately, I think marijuana will be legalized. Americans highly value the freedom to choose, and I do believe this value is a big reason why people love the U.S. But there has to be a limit on this right. I mean, that’s what laws do to an extent, especially when they concern a person's well-being.

Many people say that any consenting adult should be able to do whatever he or she wants in the privacy of his or her own home. But is legalizing marijuana just for the sake of having the right to choose marijuana a personal freedom that people need? We have the right to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, chew tobacco and gamble away money. And I've enjoyed a combination of these vices and expect to continue enjoying them for however long I can. But should Californians be given the right to add another vice to the many Americans already have? And no matter how its spun, whether it's creating tax revenue, helping people sleep better or making someone less stressed: smoking marijuana recreationally is a vice.

Compare marijuana to alcohol and cigarettes, like so many pro-legalizers, and think how alcohol actually makes our life physically better? The short answer is: it doesn’t. Drinking is just something people like to do. And marijuana for most Californians is something they want, but don't need. I am not saying that someone should be arrested for smoking marijuana in their own home. In fact, I'm fine with people continuing to smoke marijuana in whichever way for whatever reason they choose. And my mind could be changed as future research and studies reveal the full effects of marijuana, but right now I believe Californians will manage just fine without taking the unnecessary step in legalizing pot. And really: is marijuana being illegal under law stopping anyone who really wants marijuana from acquiring it? Keeping marijuana illegal is better for Californians and the U.S. as a whole.

And to answer more clearly Mr. Lovell's question from earlier in the article: Legalizing marijuana for recreational use won't improve society, Americans lives or the lives of school children. It won't. It just won't.

 

Reach Contributor Victor Figueroa here; follow him here; or visit his website.



 

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