War On Marijuana A Waste Of Time, Money
War On Marijuana A Waste Of Time, Money
Saturday, May 30, 2009, 10:18
The ??War on Drugs? originated in the Nixon administration and continues today with billions of dollars spent and hundreds of thousands of prisoners caught annually. Yet to be won, the ??war? refers to the government??s prohibition of illegal drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamines. 2009 marks the 36th anniversary of the beginning of the war with nobody celebrating victory, mourning in defeat or begging for mercy.
This war has amounted to more than $12 billion in the government??s annual spending over the past 10 years. In the economic conditions of America today, as we stare the Second Great Depression in the eye, any means of revenue will help. Legalization and decriminalization of marijuana will help save the government money and it will be able to allocate its officers to more dangerous drugs.
In 1932, Franklin Roosevelt campaigned to repeal the prohibition of alcohol with the 21st Amendment. ??Our tax burden would not be so heavy,? said Roosevelt referring to the country??s dire economic situation. With the combination of taxation of alcohol and reduced enforcement policing alcohol, Roosevelt was looking to save millions of dollars and profit with taxes from sale revenues.
President Obama currently supports medicinal marijuana and opposes legalization or decriminalization. Should marijuana be legalized and decriminalized completely, with the government taxing and enforcing laws similar to those on alcohol, they are looking at profits of up to $76 billion a year, predicts Harvard economist Jeffery A. Miron.
The evidence that marijuana is harmful is either not apparent or significantly less than for other drugs. In 2001 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tallied 331 overdoses from alcohol compared to none for marijuana. Marijuana consumption does not lead to domestic violence. Illegal marijuana trafficking and the black market is what causes domestic violence and gang wars, like the current state of turbulence in Mexico.
More dangerous drugs than marijuana, such as crystal methamphetamine, plague the Hawaiian Islands with their highly addictive properties and dangerous side effects. Hawai??i currently has the highest rate of meth users per capita in the United States. The Honolulu Police Department reported in The Honolulu Advertiser that meth use has been linked to property crimes, such as car theft or burglary, and violent crimes. It was hypothesized that a crackdown on marijuana made more people resort to the more dangerous drug, crystal meth. The legalization and decriminalization of marijuana would allow more officers to focus on the deadlier, more addictive, more violent drug of crystal methamphetamine.
As people debate the time period the United States should fight its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, citizens should also debate how much longer they are willing to wage a war within their own country. Similar to the ??War on Terrorism,? the ??War on Drugs? is the United States government waging war on its own citizens.
Marijuana has little negative externalities. It is possible for history to repeat itself, and the government will overturn one of its biggest policy disasters.
For change to happen, people need to speak out against the ??War on Drugs? and advocate for a different, more sensible policy. Wars are fought against people, not things.
Source: Honolulu Advertiser (HI)
Copyright: 2009 The Honolulu Advertiser
Contact: The Honolulu Advertiser - Opinion
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Author: Spencer McLachlin
