Up In Smoke:

Up in Smoke:

Why America's Drug Policy Must Change

One of the hottest topics of discussion during this last election was the war. Wars are always controversial subjects, as they pit two sides with opposing viewpoints against each other, always drawing strong reactions from both those for and against it. This war is especially contested because it is expensive, unnecessary, and is a blatant attempt by the government to unjustly abuse their power in ways that it isn't supposed to be used.

No, I am not alluding to the war in Iraq, but to the United States Government's war on marijuana and it's users. Although it was federally banned in 1937 (The Social History of Marijuana), the true war had started about twenty years earlier, when a massive influx of Mexican immigrants in the southwest caused some farmers to lose money because their competitors were hiring Mexican immigrants for cheap. They began to racially stereotype Mexicans, pointing to one main difference being that they smoked marijuana. These feelings led to anti-Mexican propaganda, convincing people to believe that all Mexicans were crazy, and one reason they were crazy was because they smoked marijuana (Trebach, and Incardi, 47).

So obviously, the reasons behind the original intent of the law went against the basic principles of America. While current laws aren't aimed at racial stereotypes, they too are democratically flawed and must be altered to allow the legal recreational use of marijuana.

Marijuana is a drug that has been used for an estimated 10,000 years, used on everything from medicinal purposes, as a textile in it's hemp form, in religious ceremonies, and recreationally (Abel, 213). Thomas Jefferson even went so far as to predict that hemp would be a cornerstone of the American economy, along with cotton and tobacco (Rosenthal, 6). The hemp textile industry has nearly died with the prohibition, but the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana has steadily risen over the past few decades. Already, 10 states have passed legislation allowing for medical marijuana, and that number is rising with each election ("Active State Medical Marijuana Programs). However, although the recreational use of the drug is still illegal throughout the states, recent studies have shown that many myths regarding marijuana are false, and the nation is beginning to learn the possible benefits of legalizing marijuana.

The original thought behind prohibition was backed by the harmful effects marijuana was believed to cause to the health of the user. However, years of scientific study have proven that marijuana is not as detrimental to the health of the user as first suspected. Marijuana does, however, have its share of side effects. The user experiences a high, which is "characterized by mood changes, easy laughing, elation, heightened awareness, mild aberrations of fine motor co-ordination, and minimal distortion of their activities and interactions with others" (Kim, Siani, and Gurdock). Many small, short-term side effects, like bloodshot eyes, dilated pupils, dry mouth, and memory loss accompany this high. The feelings caused by smoking marijuana can be elevated to feelings of "paranoid ideation, apprehension, fear, panic and frightening visual hallucinations" (Kim, Siani, and Gurdock) with increased dosage. Long-term effects can include lung cancer, respiratory illness, weakening of the immune system, memory loss, and possible reproductive problems (especially in males) (National Institute on Drug Abuse). However, these instances are few and usually not exceedingly dangerous. Additionally, while marijuana has shown instances in which it can be psychologically addictive in a way similar to alcohol, sex, gambling, and video games, marijuana is not physically addictive, like tobacco, oxycotin, and cocaine are.

Many of the government's tactics to fool the people of America have been through advertisements via different media outlets. According to Theantidrug.com, the government's website for "educating" the citizens of America about the dangers of drugs, "the amount of tar inhaled by marijuana smokers and the level of carbon monoxide absorbed are three to five times greater than among tobacco smokers." (National Institue on Drug Abuse "Marijuana"). For argument's sake, we will assume this statement is true. While cigarette sizes vary, we will assume a cigarette contains one gram of tobacco, which is about the average. Therefore, the standard pack of 20 cigarettes, (which is what the "pack-a-day" smoker consumes), contains roughly 20 grams of tobacco. Thus, the marijuana user would need to consume five grams, or roughly one sixth of an ounce of marijuana per day to equal the amount of carbon monoxide and tar a regular "pack-a-day" smoker consumes. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the average regular user consumes roughly Ñ* grams of marijuana per day. Therefore, regular marijuana users consume roughly the same amount of harmful chemicals as a person who smokes three cigarettes per day, which is a very modest number for cigarette smokers.

When compared to alcohol, a legal substance that can provide similar mind-altering effects, marijuana appears to be the safer of the two, both from a health and social standpoint. The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control estimates that about 4000 Americans die each year from alcohol poisoning. There has never been a documented case of a marijuana user dying of a marijuana overdose, and "tests performed on mice have shown that the ratio of cannabinoids (the chemicals in marijuana that make you high) necessary for overdose to the amount necessary for intoxication is 40,000:1" (Levine). Drunk driving killed over 17,000 Americans in 2003 (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control). The effects of marijuana on driving skills are also regarded as detrimental, but a study by Hindrik W.J. Robbe of the Institute for Human Psychopharmacology at the University of Limburg showed that marijuana is much safer than alcohol to drive while under the influence of (Robbe). Finally, alcohol is the most commonly used date rape drug amongst American college students (Date Rape Drugs). Marijuana did not even make the list. Studies like these led Judge Francis Young of the Drug Enforcement Agency to state, "Marijuana is one of the safest therapeutically-active substances known to man" (Lee).

Now that the true health facts regarding marijuana use have been uncovered, anti-marijuana reform lobbyists have switched their gears. Now, rather than being as much of a health problem, marijuana is being unfairly labeled as a social problem. The main argument for this