Galaxy
04-27-2009, 04:48 PM
* Daily Nexus /
* Opinion /
The Case Against Legalizing Marijuana
Shaeffer Bannigan
Published Monday, April 27, 2009
Issue 113 / Volume 89
Many people blame the government for the war on drugs because the government refuses to legalize the drug. But the war on drugs isnâ??t as shortsighted as proponents of legalization would like to think. Legalizing marijuana will not solve all of our drug war problems and certainly wonâ??t make our country a better place to live.
Advocates of legalization propositions say that a federally regulated marijuana market will drive the cost of marijuana down, decrease the crime rate and thus decrease the wasted efforts put forth by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The federal government spends billions of dollars each year in an effort to undermine drug distribution throughout the country. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2006, about 6,000 people a day used marijuana for the first time, a total of 2.2 million Americans. Of these, 63.3 percent were under age 18. So when the government legalizes pot for people over 21, as any of its attempted legislation has stated, it wonâ??t suddenly eliminate the demand for marijuana of those underage users. The war on drugs will continue.
The concept that marijuana is less harmful than cigarettes or alcohol may be a true statement to some degree but isnâ??t a cause for legalization. Standards should not be set on degree of harmfulness, but degree of helpfulness. Also, letâ??s not forget that the tobacco industry wonâ??t just step aside to let a brand new business take over the market. Should marijuana become legal, who do you think will first start the mass manufacturing? My guess of Marlboro is a good one. But Camel is a decent choice, too. And if Marlboro wants to keep people smoking pot just like it does with tobacco, it may start putting a couple â??harmless ingredientsâ? into the mixture to help a little. After that, itâ??s anyoneâ??s guess as to which of the three drugs is the worst for you.
While the revenue stream may be helpful to the economy from a monetary standpoint, at what cost do we seek out this fortune? Juxtapose thinking only with a monetary mindset, why shouldnâ??t California lower the drinking age to 18? Our tourism industry will increase tenfold, with millions of 18 year olds trekking across our border in search of their stateâ??s forbidden fruit. Besides the fact that the federal government would revoke several of our subsidiaries, the reason we donâ??t do this is because of the health impact it would have on the general public and state-to-state relations. Having a bunch of 18 year olds driving across the border to get drunk and then driving back home isnâ??t a good thing. The cost outweighs the benefits, just like with marijuana. The cost is far worse than the potential monetary benefits.
Iâ??m all for medical marijuana. If youâ??re in pain, itâ??s no different to be prescribed marijuana rather than morphine or Vicodin. But Iâ??m not about to push for the full legalization of the latter two drugs either. Legalization is incentivizing, and the costs of incentivizing weed among our nationâ??s youth are scary, at best. While there may be some four million people smoking weed in our country now, imagine encouraging it among the rest. I canâ??t think of a better way to stimulate our economy than to inject into it a tool that entirely destroys ambition and motivation. Excuse the language, but nothing says â??fuck itâ? like a big dose of THC in the morning. Instead of mandatory 15 minute â??smoking breaksâ? for cigarette-smoking workers, employers will have to implement new hours for pot-smoking workers: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Wednesday. Nike may have to change their slogan from â??Just Do Itâ? to â??Just Donâ??t.â? I can see the potential now.
Daily Nexus columnist Shaeffer Bannigan can see a red-eyed, stoney version of Joe Camel now.
* Opinion /
The Case Against Legalizing Marijuana
Shaeffer Bannigan
Published Monday, April 27, 2009
Issue 113 / Volume 89
Many people blame the government for the war on drugs because the government refuses to legalize the drug. But the war on drugs isnâ??t as shortsighted as proponents of legalization would like to think. Legalizing marijuana will not solve all of our drug war problems and certainly wonâ??t make our country a better place to live.
Advocates of legalization propositions say that a federally regulated marijuana market will drive the cost of marijuana down, decrease the crime rate and thus decrease the wasted efforts put forth by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The federal government spends billions of dollars each year in an effort to undermine drug distribution throughout the country. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2006, about 6,000 people a day used marijuana for the first time, a total of 2.2 million Americans. Of these, 63.3 percent were under age 18. So when the government legalizes pot for people over 21, as any of its attempted legislation has stated, it wonâ??t suddenly eliminate the demand for marijuana of those underage users. The war on drugs will continue.
The concept that marijuana is less harmful than cigarettes or alcohol may be a true statement to some degree but isnâ??t a cause for legalization. Standards should not be set on degree of harmfulness, but degree of helpfulness. Also, letâ??s not forget that the tobacco industry wonâ??t just step aside to let a brand new business take over the market. Should marijuana become legal, who do you think will first start the mass manufacturing? My guess of Marlboro is a good one. But Camel is a decent choice, too. And if Marlboro wants to keep people smoking pot just like it does with tobacco, it may start putting a couple â??harmless ingredientsâ? into the mixture to help a little. After that, itâ??s anyoneâ??s guess as to which of the three drugs is the worst for you.
While the revenue stream may be helpful to the economy from a monetary standpoint, at what cost do we seek out this fortune? Juxtapose thinking only with a monetary mindset, why shouldnâ??t California lower the drinking age to 18? Our tourism industry will increase tenfold, with millions of 18 year olds trekking across our border in search of their stateâ??s forbidden fruit. Besides the fact that the federal government would revoke several of our subsidiaries, the reason we donâ??t do this is because of the health impact it would have on the general public and state-to-state relations. Having a bunch of 18 year olds driving across the border to get drunk and then driving back home isnâ??t a good thing. The cost outweighs the benefits, just like with marijuana. The cost is far worse than the potential monetary benefits.
Iâ??m all for medical marijuana. If youâ??re in pain, itâ??s no different to be prescribed marijuana rather than morphine or Vicodin. But Iâ??m not about to push for the full legalization of the latter two drugs either. Legalization is incentivizing, and the costs of incentivizing weed among our nationâ??s youth are scary, at best. While there may be some four million people smoking weed in our country now, imagine encouraging it among the rest. I canâ??t think of a better way to stimulate our economy than to inject into it a tool that entirely destroys ambition and motivation. Excuse the language, but nothing says â??fuck itâ? like a big dose of THC in the morning. Instead of mandatory 15 minute â??smoking breaksâ? for cigarette-smoking workers, employers will have to implement new hours for pot-smoking workers: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Wednesday. Nike may have to change their slogan from â??Just Do Itâ? to â??Just Donâ??t.â? I can see the potential now.
Daily Nexus columnist Shaeffer Bannigan can see a red-eyed, stoney version of Joe Camel now.