Editor’s Note: Two writers for the GC Summit have diametrically opposed views on the issue of legalizing marijuana. We asked Jenn Sanders, who favors the idea, and Dylan Burke, who opposes it, to tell their sides of the controversy. Sanders is commentary editor and Burke is news editor of the Summit.
Argument in favor….
Marijuana is more helpful than harmful. Like any of the legal drugs, such as cigarettes and alcohol, there should be an age limit to buy pot. The amount of money that could be brought back into the economy is astounding. I believe that if this “drug” were to be made legal there would be less violence. The pharmaceutical companies do not want you to hear this, but cannabis has many medicinal properties.
To begin with, the prisons and jails are filled with many who have done nothing wrong, other than getting “caught” with some pot in their pockets. I will admit there are a lot of people who take advantage of the prohibition, but the same thing happened when alcohol was federally prohibited. But weed? Consider this: The government spends approximately 10-14 billion dollars a year on related arrests. In 2009, according to The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), 858,408 people were arrested for marijuana related crimes. That’s a whole lot of money that could be used in many other ways that would help the economy instead of draining it.
I sincerely believe that if weed were to be made legal there would be a lot less violence. Think about it for a moment, how many times have you seen some one get violent while smoking a joint? Or commit some other random crime? The most violent a person using medical cannabis tends to get is tearing open a bag of munchies. Approximately every 30 minutes an alcohol-related accident happens. And, that’s legal. Marijuana has a calming effect which makes people less likely to do anything rash.
Medical cannabis has so many medicinal uses it’s almost out of control. Just to name a few: it relieves nausea for cancer patients; helps to control Adult ADD; Depression; AIDS/HIV; menstrual cramps; birth pains; and epilepsy. Like I said those are just a few. For many centuries before the prohibition of marijuana, cannabis was used to manage all kinds of ailments.
We have been led to believe that Marijuana is bad and causes people to act in ways that are socially unacceptable. These are untruths because cannabis is, in actuality, more helpful than harmful. There are many more uses for this plant besides medicinal and recreational. For instance the hemp plant can be used to make clothing and paper, and so much more. Marijuana should be legalized for more reasons than I have room to write.
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Argument in opposition…
By Dylan Burke
Society doesn’t need weed.
The real question is not if we are economically better off legalizing it, nor if it is a moral issue. At the end of the day the real question is do you need weed?
I stand up with the next guy if the answer is yes, medical marijuana is necessary to the ones such as the elderly who need it. However, I fundamentally disagree with those who feel that America should be a country where in public we have people legally smoking dangerous substances. Legalization would increase the chances of the drug falling into the hands of kids. The danger of its use by juveniles is that kids generally don’t exhibit the same reasoning, responsibility, and judgment of an adult.
We already have enough problems as it is with people who aren’t responsible with the amount of liquor they consume; “stoned driving” and other dangers would be increased. Marijuana use isn’t truly a “victimless crime” when you consider all the crimes that may be committed when the user is under the influence of the drug
It is the government’s duty to protect the public from such dangerous drugs. After all, that’s why the FDA was created. Marijuana is illegal for a reason, and in my opinion it should and will stay illegal unless someone is able to prove society would be better off.
