Legality of Marijuana: Questioning Your Rights

September 11, 2009  
Filed under Opinion

Kansas has a reputation for being a “red” state, dominated by religion, as well as agricultural.  Now although this may not be completely accurate, for the most part I feel like these assumptions of who Kansans are is correct. Now the biggest exception I have come across is Lawrence, full of life loving hippies and fornicating college students experimenting with all sorts of drugs ranging from alcohol to acid. But like I said, Lawrence, and obviously the few urban areas we have in Kansas are the exceptions.

So obviously, being lead by Republicans with their steel-rod staffs of the conservative mindset in their right hand, and the bible in their left, marijuana (a.k.a. hashish, THC, etc.) is going to be viewed as “The Devils Grass.” But if we take a step back and look countrywide, even worldwide, maybe we could get a little insight to the pros of marijuana, instead of always focusing on the cons as we as Kansans tend to do.

For example, dispensaries in California sell marijuana for medical use to those who have a doctor approved pass, if you will, to buy the substance.  Marijuana has been used for medical purposes for 12,000 years according to whitman.edu. Yet in the 1930s, regulations were being placed in many of the states due to The Uniform State Narcotic Act, banning both the use of marijuana and reinforced the Marijuana Tax act, which bans the transportation or exchange of marijuana.

Arguments on legality and relevance in the medical field arose because the government believes that marijuana is addictive and once people start to get hooked it will consume their lives. Well, people seem to ignore the fact that humans everywhere become addicted to alcohol which is legal. People become extremely addicted to tobacco products, and once again, those too are legal.

One thing that really gets me is this: painkillers are prescribed without question, but in Kansas, marijuana cannot be prescribed for medical use. As a previous user of painkillers for a long period of time thanks to a knee surgery, I will admit that once my prescription ran out I felt the need for more even though my knee no longer hurt.

People become extremely addicted to painkillers every day. In fact, according to nytimes.com, 75 percent of people who are prescribed the painkiller OxyCotin become dependent on the drug. Now compare that to the 9 percent of marijuana smokers who become addicted, the 12 percent of drinkers who become alcoholics, the 17 percent of addicted cocaine users and finally the 23 percent of people hooked on heroin. So if there is an argument on becoming dependant on marijuana, why not first address the dependency of the ever-so-legal substance alcohol. I would like to see the peoples reaction if you took away their booze too.

Marijuana has proven benefits for those suffering from chronic pain, glaucoma, cancer treatment, anxiety, insomnia, etc. So how about all of the people who believe marijuana is evil go tell the 14-year-old girl undergoing treatment for leukemia that she is not allowed have the one thing that makes her feel better? I assume all those people who preach against marijuana have never even touched it. Of course, I am listing the benefits of THC, but have as little experience as they do with the substance.

There is also an issue of the numerous incarcerations due to marijuana use, costing our country’s tax funds one billion dollars a year, according to alternet.org. Although marijuana has been made legal for medical use in several states, and decriminalized on a state level, the Federal “enforcers of law” are still able to swoop into these dispensaries and confiscate all of the hashish and medical records of all the people who go to buy there. Imagine a world where marijuana was decriminalized, legal even! How many college students would be out of jail and not using up our country’s tax dollars? How much money could be diverted from organized crime and into tax revenue?

In the end there are numerous reasons as to why marijuana should be decriminalized and made legal for medical use, at the very least. So next time before you assume the worst about marijuana, how about you keep an open mind and do some research.

Although America is a free country sometimes I question the restrictions that are laid upon us, and so should you. Take advantage of your rights. Know what you are talking about before you nix it.

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By Dana Peterson

Citing

http://www.whitman.edu/biology/Stuproj/YoungB/history.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/fashion/19pot.html?_r=1

alternet.org/rights/478151

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