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Smoke 'Em If You've Got 'Em

Adam LaMascus
The Commuter

Thursday, November 12, 2009

So it seems that California may be legalizing marijuana next year, and if they do, Massachusetts may follow suit. An article by the New York Times says that the legalization effort has made some huge gains in the past few years, and that on Wednesday, Oct. 28 California had a hearing to discuss a legalization bill. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, they argued a lot but didn’t really reach any major conclusions, and they will most likely continue to argue about it once the Legislature reconvenes in December. People in favor of the bill cited tax revenue increases and other benefits, while opponents claimed there would be a huge increase in violence, drug cartel power and traffic accidents.

Tax officials estimate legalizing and taxing cannabis could bring in an additional $1.4 billion in revenues to the financially cramping state. I say go for it, and I don’t even smoke.

Dr. Burke, president of the American Historical Reference Society (AHRS) and a consultant for the Smithsonian Institute, has said that many of the founding fathers and other presidents smoked it. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor, Benjamin Franklin and Franklin Pierce, just to name a few. Not only that, but the AHRS said that there is evidence of marijuana use since the dawn of human history.

Harry J. Anslinger, one of the leaders behind the push to criminalize cannabis, was also the Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau of Prohibition and therefore obviously a big supporter of Prohibition, before he was made Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. The late Anslinger said that cannabis causes people to act violently, irrationally and “overly sexual.” If I may say so, alcohol is so much worse than cannabis in that regard! As someone who lives in a college town and has some friends in California with medical marijuana cards, I’ve seen first hand the effects of the two drugs on people, and I’ve never seen someone smoke a joint and get belligerent. I cannot say the same for alcohol. Also, it seems to me that the opponents of legalization seem to be using some scare-monger tactics similar to the ones used during Prohibition. The people in favor cite numbers and numerous nonpartisan experts, while the opposition gets police officers to say “there will be more violence and Mexican drug dealers will have power in California!” No offense to the police officers.

The government spends millions of dollars annually tracking down, prosecuting and incarcerating people who grow marijuana. Druglibrary.com sited research by numerous sources, their estimates ranging from $60 million to $100 million annually. Why spend that time and money when you can just tax them and make money off of it? Handle it like we handle alcohol and regular tobacco: regulate it, tax it and only track people down when they are being reckless and endangering others.

Comment

Hi, Adam! I agree wholeheartedly with you in this matter! The reality is the percentage of marijuana-related accidents (marijuana alone, obviously not mixing it w/alcohol or other drugs,) is 0! It does not impair one like alcohol does and you are spot on; no one becomes violent after smoking pot! Keep writing and I’ll keep reading! Thank you!

— Trish Aquino · Nov 22, 08:48 PM · #

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