Andy Kim
Professor Keane
WRT 101-118
Essay 5: Research Paper
14 Dec. 2016
The Misconceptions of Weed
Marijuana legalization is a prominent and controversial topic that has been around in the states for many years and many people have been getting worked up over it. There are sayings that marijuana is the “devil’s lettuce” and causes people to do unlawful things. “Despite decades of well-funded fear mongering and millions of arrests, marijuana is a plant that has been used recreationally or medicinally at least once by approximately 100,000,000 Americans” (“Drug Prohibition Has Failed”), and the numbers seem to be getting higher. Many people are against this drug because they claim it to be highly addictive and harmful to one’s health, but what many people do not realize is a lot of these claims against marijuana are false, and the prohibition of marijuana causes more problems than its legalization. The use of marijuana must be legalized in the state of New Jersey as its outlandish ban only causes harm to our societies and shrouds its beneficial aspects.
Currently, marijuana is banned in 21 states and the reasons why points to rumors involving health concerns and safety (“Drug Prohibition Has Failed”). Many say marijuana causes harm to brain development, ruins one’s sexual life, and even ruins one’s future, but are these rumors really true? That certainly beg the question. Were these assumptions proven by leading scientists and experts? Legalizing marijuana will not only prove that it is not as harmful as many come to think, but it will also educate those whose accusations have been wrong this entire time.
Now many people may argue that the reason why marijuana was originally banned was to protect the American people, presumably proven by scientists. However, this is not the case. It is, in fact, far beyond what had really happened. In the 1930’s, a man named Harry Anslinger worked for the U.S. government, specifically for the Department of Prohibition (Hari). After the disastrous failure of prohibiting alcohol, Anslinger needed something else to ban in order to keep his department running. At the time, marijuana was a popular product consumed by many, and there was certainly nothing wrong with it, as stated by Anslinger himself, “there is no more absurd fallacy” than the idea that [marijuana] makes people violent (Hari). Nonetheless, Anslinger was constricted with desperation and made at an attempt to ban cannabis and he then stated, “First you will fall into ‘a delirious rage.’ Then you will be gripped by ‘dreams …of an erotic character.’ Then you will ‘lose the power of connected thought.’ Finally, you will reach the inevitable end-point: ‘Insanity’” (Hari). All this was obviously a lie, but Anslinger relentlessly pushed on, using extreme murder cases like the case of Victor Licata, an American murderer who hacked his entire family with an axe. Anslinger used cases similar to these to back his point even though marijuana had nothing to do with any of them, and not to mention he also targeted certain races because racism was rising. Furthermore, Anslinger had control over the media because he had a friend, William Randolph Hearst, who was the publisher of the most popular newspaper chain at the time. It is clear that this occurrence is disregarded and ignored; a man who took part in our very own U.S. government took measures that were immoral and plainly absurd. It just does not make sense to believe that scientists were behind the banning of marijuana.
However, those who still won’t budge from their opinion may argue upon the malicious side effects of marijuana. They may go on and say that marijuana induces violence and even causes death in the U.S. This is also very false because if anything, marijuana has not caused any of these. When compared to alcohol, “Alcohol kills 40,000 people every year in the U.S. Cannabis kills nobody” (Hari). This makes it strange to see that alcohol is legal, especially when in some states, 18-year olds can get access to it easily. Jeffrey A. Miron, author of article, “Marijuana Legalization Leads to a Reduction in Crime,” visited Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands to see their legal marijuana situation. He states, “The red-light district could not have felt safer or more normal. Yes, marijuana was widely available” (Miron). In a place where marijuana is legal, there does not seem to be any violence relating to the drug. Miron goes on to say, “The absence of violence is not surprising. Prohibition, not drug use, is the main reason for the association between violence and drugs, prostitution, gambling, or any banned good. In a legal market, participants resolve disputes with lawyers, courts, and arbitration. In an illegal market, they cannot use these methods and resort to violence instead” (Miron). To those who so impulsively argue that marijuana and other drug use are the causes of violence, your argument falls flat.
In countries like Portugal, Vancouver, and Switzerland where drug use was illegal, they faced the biggest problems. However, when the government decided that prohibition was not the answer, the stats changed drastically. In Portugal, “Drug use declined in every age category,” and percentage of diseases dropped nearly 80% (“Drug Prohibition Has Failed”). In Vancouver, a facility was built by the government to help drug addicts and “not only were there universally positive outcomes…but there were no negative outcomes” (“Drug Prohibition Has Failed”). This facility, called “Insite,” encouraged drug addicts to win over their addiction by bringing in their drugs while helped with medical supervision. “Insite” has prevented overdoses and has ultimately given hope to families and communities. Lastly, in Switzerland, after the legalization of drugs, there was a “60 percent drop in felony crimes” and rates of diseases “among drug users have plummeted, now listing Switzerland as having the lowest rates of any country in Europe” (“Drug Prohibition Has Failed”). To say that drugs like marijuana causes violence and harm to our societies just cannot stand as a sound argument. In fact, cutting the prohibition decreases any troublesome effects caused by the prohibition itself.
Drug prohibition also harms the government. Marijuana in the U.S. is “estimated to be worth $40 billion or more” (“Marijuana Should”). But banning this market “ensures that this vast market enriches criminal organizations and produces massive violence, crime and corruption. Virtually all marijuana-related violence is the result of prohibition, which keeps responsible business out of the market. Illegal businesses have no legitimate means to settle dispute, so violence inevitably results” (“Marijuana Should”). It is as if the U.S. government is purposely turning its back against this issue, and it is shocking to see how the government continues to let this go unresolved. In fact, the government can heavily benefit from cutting prohibition on marijuana, in terms of gaining massive revenue. “Revenue from taxation of marijuana sales could reach up to $8.7 billion per year if taxed like alcohol or tobacco” (“Marijuana Should”). Such a prodigious amount of money can undoubtedly help towards the massive debt of the U.S, generate opportunities and jobs for those unemployed, and support technological and scientific advancement. Even in the state of New Jersey itself, we can collect over 500 million dollars annually and if kept from the people, all the money would go to the black market (“What New Jersey Can Learn”). States like Colorado and Maine have already gone past prohibition because they know “cannabis helps people with health issues and also reduces crime” (“What New Jersey Can Learn”). Thus, we, as the people in New Jersey, must follow behind the steps of the states that have officially legalized marijuana. Doing so will ultimately benefit our economy, communities, and show an improvement in statistics.
This is why we must take small steps in achieving marijuana legalization by legalizing it first in our very own state, New Jersey, first. We must reach out to our senators, Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, who are in charge of composing the laws of New Jersey, and we can do so by signing and submitting a petition to legalize marijuana. We can also protest and form organized and non-violent rallies in large numbers to catch their attention as we provide the reasonable arguments and rationale for its legalization. Idly sitting and wishing for something to happen will never get anyone anywhere. We must act if we truly want something, and doing so will instill confidence and motivation in others who are in the same predicament as we are. Slowly, as we legalize marijuana by the states, we can gradually increase in size and legalize marijuana by the countries.