DECRIMINALIZATION OF MARIJUANA
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English 112

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April 18, 2012

Presently, Marijuana is illegal in the United States due to the racially motivated Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This law was proposed by Harry J. Anslinger the acting commissioner of Federal Bureau of Narcotics. In his testimony to Congress he stated, "There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others" (ukcia.org, (n.d), para. 1). Since this time, the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 has spawned more strict laws that have many unintended side effects. After many decades, effective federal propaganda has won public support for these laws. Only recently, U.S. citizens have started to question why marijuana is illegal. I feel that it would be beneficial to discard these laws and beliefs of the past. We need to analyze how the legalization of marijuana would positively affect the United States and its citizens in the following fields: medical, criminology, and financial.
I support the legalization of marijuana not because I use this herb, because I do not and would not even if it was legal much like a majority of our populous. I have taken this stance because of the benefits that would arise from legalization. Marijuana has been criminalized for private citizens since 1930’s bringing over 80 years of undue turmoil. The criminalization of marijuana and the war on drugs has imprisoned countless American citizens for nonviolent crimes, and is fueling Mexican drug cartels. Marijuana could bolster our weakened economy providing economic security for those who choose not to use marijuana. Marijuana could also provide cheap and effective medical treatment for numerous medical conditions. Why would we overlook this proven cash crop and continue to imprison or citizens for nonviolent crimes?
However, I understand that the general perception of marijuana is that it is addictive and may lead to the use of other drugs. While these ideas are widely debatable; marijuana is not physically addictive, but some reports of psychological addiction do exist. Psychological addictions can occur with any process that has been repeated once a day for thirty days or more. Marijuana is less destructive than other legal drugs such as alcohol or nicotine. The theory of a “Gateway drug” is an ideological fallacy. The “Gateway drug” theory claims that the use of lessor drugs such as tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana will increase the likelihood of using more dangerous hard drugs such as heroin or crack. This correlation is ungrounded and lacks consistent studies. I could say that all crawling infants will soon walk which will lead to riding a scooter, then a bicycle, then passenger cars; inevitably, any infant that crawls will once in their lives drive semi-trucks using the same premise. Unfortunately, the fact that marijuana is unregulated and must be purchased on the black market can lead to other drugs. According to a study performed by Reinarman, Cohen, and Kaal, “ The "separation of markets," in which lawfully regulated cannabis distribution reduces the likelihood that people seeking cannabis will be drawn into deviant subcultures where "hard drugs" also are sold…” (Reinarman, Cohen & Kaal, 2004, para. 29). If marijuana was legalized it could be sold at trustworthy establishments, the risks of impure products and solicitation of harmful narcotics could be mitigated.
Often I hear that marijuana is bad for your health, well I agree. As with any foreign substance introduced into your body there will be undesirable effects. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Marijuana intoxication can cause distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory” ("National Institute on Drug Abuse," 2010, para 5).This sounds like the same effects of the legal drug alcohol, but unlike alcohol it is not socially destructive. The National Institute on Drug Abuse also states that “Marijuana smokers can have many of the same respiratory problems as tobacco smokers, such as daily cough and phlegm production, more frequent acute chest illness, and a heightened risk of lung infections”( para. 13).Unlike tobacco marijuana has been proven to be effective in the medical field. Marijuana has shown medical promise with the following ailments: nausea, vomiting, anorexia, cachexia, spasticity, movement disorders, pain, glaucoma, epilepsy, asthma, psychiatric symptoms, autoimmune diseases, inflammation, and many other medical ailments ("Medical cannabis”, n.d. ) Ironically, marijuana has been used to treat withdrawal symptoms of benzodiazepines, opiates and alcohol. This simple native herb’s compounds cannot be fully synthesized by science at this time, and it seems criminal to deny this medical aid to the general population.
Undoubtedly, a black market has been erected to support the demand for illegal marijuana. The black market’s main supplier of marijuana is Mexican drug cartels. One could argue that these Mexican drug cartels import a variety of drugs; how would legalizing marijuana possibly affect them? I can assure you that these drug cartels appreciate that marijuana is illegal in the United States. This black market is a thriving industry as confirmed by Jason Beaubien associated with NPR “Marijuana generates billions of dollars in revenues each year for the brutal narcotics cartels. By some estimates, it is the most profitable product for the Mexican drug gangs” (Beaubien, 2010, para 3).This revenue helps support these terrorists’ drug cartels funding their ability to dominate the Mexican government with superior firepower and resources. Marijuana being illegal in the U.S. has provided these violent cartels the means to oppress the Mexican citizens. “Mexico, the world's largest exporter of marijuana, sends almost all of its crops to the U.S. Cannabis also accounts for almost half the cartels' revenues, according to an estimate from the Mexican attorney general's office” (para. 4). Some people may say that these cartels operate in Mexico thus they do not affect the U.S. citizens. This premise is not true; in Mexico, an estimated 24,000 people have been killed by drug related violence since 2006. These cartels are so bold that they routinely kidnap and kill city officials and attack the Mexican army. These criminals have expanded beyond their borders and are now bringing this violence onto U.S. soil. These cartels are operating within the U.S. borders kidnaping American citizens, attacking local law enforcement, and U.S. Border Patrol agents. This is simply out of hand and is placing Americans in danger within our borders compromising national security, and they are using American money to do so. I find this distinctly shameful that a racially motivated law developed 80 years ago has grown into a cancer on America, and we foolishly allow it to continue. Certainly, it is hard to ignore the state of our present economy. The DEA published “Drug control spending is a minor portion of the U.S. budget. Compared to the social costs of drug abuse and addiction, government spending on drug control is minimal” (Speaking out against drug legalization, 2003, p.4). This argument appears to be fair, but the DEA did not state how much is actually spent combating marijuana, or specifically what the social costs are. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy “The President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 National Drug Control Budget requests $26.2 billion to reduce drug use and its consequences in the United States. This represents an increase of $322.6 million (1.2 percent) over the FY 2010 enacted level of $25.9 billion” (ONDCP, 2012, p.1). This figure is for the overall war on drugs, marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers at least $8.7 billion annually. This does not include the costs of processing, and detaining of people arrested for marijuana offenses. This brings a clear annual financial strain to our economy by continuing the criminalization of marijuana. Legalization of marijuana would greatly reduce the drug enforcement spending, and reduce the strain of our penal system. The savings and revenue of legalization of marijuana are quite substantial according to the Cato Institute “Approximately $8.7 billion of the savings would result from legalization of marijuana “("Cato institute," 2010, para. 1). Marijuana is a historical cash crop in America, additionally Jon Gettman states “Marijuana is the largest cash crop in the United States, more valuable than corn and wheat combined. Using conservative price estimates domestic marijuana production has a value of $35.8 billion” (Gettman, 2006, p.4). The potential economical yield is estimated to be 44.5 billion dollars annually, this is hard to ignore. In conclusion marijuana should be legalized, taxed and controlled the same as alcohol or tobacco. The social and economic benefits could have a deep and lasting impact providing jobs as well as federal revenue for our citizens. We could strike a critical blow to foreign and domestic terrorism by cutting off a well-known source of income. Marijuana could even provide low cost and far reaching medical aid that has been denied by our federal government. These laws saturate our penal system with multitudes of nonviolent offenders, misallocate law enforcement resources, and destroy the lives of decent people. The efforts made for prohibition are misguided, costly, and futile. We should consider the effects of prohibition and do what is morally, financially, and logically right. We should federally decriminalize marijuana, and if you agree you should express your opinions in writing to your local congressman.

References

Beaubien, J. (2010, May 19). Npr. Retrieved April 09, 2012 from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126978142

Cato institute. (2010, December). Retrieved April 08, 2012 from http://www.cato.org/pubs/policy_report/v32n6/cpr32n6-6.html
Gettman, P. D. (2006). Marijuana production in the united states. Retrieved April 09, 2012 from http://www.drugscience.org/Archive/bcr2/MJCropReport_2006.pdf
Medical cannabis. (n.d.). Retrieved April 08, 2012 from http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/patients-use.htm
National institute on drug abuse: The science of drug abuse and addiction. (2010, November 1). Retrieved April 09, 2012 from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/infofacts/marijuana

ONDCP. (2012). Retrieved April 08, 2012 from White House website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/policy-and-research/fy12highlight_exec_sum.pdf
Reinarman, C., Cohen, P., & Kaal, H. (2004, May 01). The limited relevance of drug policy: Cannabis in Amsterdam and San Francisco. Retrieved April 10, 2012 from http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n671/a09.html ukcia.org. (n.d.). Anslinger's lies. Retrieved April 17, 2012 from http://www.ukcia.org/potculture/20/lies.html

Speaking out against drug legalization. (2003). Retrieved April 08, 2012 from U.S. Department of Justice website: http://www.justice.gov/dea/demand/speakout/speaking_out-may03.pdf