The current laws prohibiting the use of marijuana creates criminals out of law abiding citizens and the laws need to be changed. It is clear that the majority of Americans support this change and it is time for prohibition to end.  Not only is Marijuana prohibition costly, but it is also morally objectionable. Government agents close down small businesses, raid family farms, arrest non-violent “criminals” and perpetuate a myth of dangers associated with Marijuana.

Former President Jimmy Carter made a famous and articulate argument for the legalization of marijuana.

“Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this clearer than in the laws against possession of marihuana in private for personal use… Therefore, I support legislation amending Federal law to eliminate all Federal criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce [28g] of marihuana.”

Marijuana has been lumped into a category of drugs that it does not belong, being compared to heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, LSD and a whole assortment of other drugs that have been proven to be harmful and possibly deadly.  These drugs, of course, are synthesized by humans from plants, molds or assortments of household chemicals and over the counter drugs.  Marijuana is a plant, specifically a fast growing weed that would grow naturally even if humans didn’t cultivate it.

Interestingly, there has never been a case of a death directly caused from smoking marijuana throughout recorded history.  Of course this statistic ignores any traffic related deaths or any deaths where marijuana could be seen as a contributing factor.  Most people who argue for the legalization of marijuana argue against driving under the influence of marijuana because of the obvious difficulties in operating a moving vehicle while stoned.

“In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. It is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.”

(Francis Young, administrative law judge for the DEA).

The biggest problem that I see is that marijuana has been lumped into a category of drugs that have proven to be deadly. Other drugs that are legal kill a lot of people annually as well.  Drugs such as tobacco (400,000 people/year), alcohol (100,000 people/year), caffeine (2,000 people/year) and aspirin (500 people/year) kill a lot of people every year.  Based on this statistic I would say that any argument for marijuana prohibition that is based on a health statistic or concern is not a rational or viable argument to make.  By that rational everything from tobacco and alcohol to soda, chips and pizza should be made illegal.  But the pizza black market would be too big to police. (http://www.legalizationofmarijuana.com/)

Most people in the United States have tried marijuana, and a lot of them have found out that it is not as harmful as alcohol. When the user smokes more and more it affects them less and less, so the drug is the most powerful to the user the first times they use it.  This is only relevant because I believe some people misinterpret the power of marijuana by using too much.  Just like with anything in life moderation is important and it is important to have knowledge about what is put into ones body and how much of anything one should ingest.

One of the biggest drawbacks of the US War on Drugs is that it is a war of propaganda; they try and persuade the mass population that marijuana is bad by telling lies.

The most popular argument for the legalization of non-medical marijuana (recreational) is based around the idea of small government.  Our government is so powerful that citizens are prohibited from growing a plant in their own home and this is outrageous to many Americans.   The fact remains that marijuana is a harmless plant that when used properly can be enjoyed by millions of people.

In a hypothetical world where alcohol was illegal and marijuana was commonly enjoyed we would see a reduction in crime and the violence.

Marijuana should be legal in the United States.  As long as marijuana is illegal there will be more ‘criminals’ on the streets and more people will live in fear of being ‘caught’ for using marijuana.

Raymond Kendall Secretary General of INTERPOL said it best in January of 1994:

“Western governments … will lose the war against dealers unless efforts are switched to prevention and therapy… All penalties for drug users should be dropped … Making drug abuse a crime is useless and even dangerous … Every year we seize more and more drugs and arrest more and more dealers but at the same time the quantity available in our countries still increases… Police are losing the drug battle worldwide.”

Related posts:

1. USA Marijuana for Profit.
2. Drug Testing for Welfare? No!
3. Cannabis: Are US Policies Reasonable?