The upcoming rebuttal for the rebuttal in the scroll. And yes, I did write this while listening to the best of Van Morrison.
First off, let us not use the vulgar Mexican slang word marijuana, and refer to the material at hand by its proper name: cannabis.
Cannanbis is a tall plant used to produce hemp fiber and as psychotropic drug. Cannabis contains 400 different chemical compounds including psychoactive A9-tetrahydrocannabinol. “11 percent of the US population over the age of 12 uses cannabis annually, including 28 percent of people aged 18-25, and over a third of children in their final year in school.”
The opinion of cannabis and its effects, like many things, swing on a pendulum. It has moved from the widespread international banning of cannabis products in the early 20th century to the rise of illicit drug use by the counter-culture of the 1970’s to the present day trend of legalizing it for medical use. However, as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime stated in a recent study “the pendulum may have swung too far in the opposite direction.”
It has become a somewhat childish trend to argue for the legalization of cannabis because “yeah, dude, we’ve got to protect our rights, man” because Bob Marley was legit and its all about the Love. Lets put the coolness of tie-dye and and dread-locked hippies aside for a moment and consider reality, not idealized philosophical big words.
I offer 5 points against the legalization of cannabis.
One. If cannabis were legalized because it only harms “oneself” then it logically entails that all other similar substances would also need to be legalized, including less-favorable substances such as LSD, cocaine, and heroine.
Two. The presumption that legalizing the drug will undercut and destroy the black market trade of the substance is established on muddy grounds to say the least. Cannabis would likely become purchasable in the local gas station pinned with a sin tax and an age requirement. Why pay the extra price and fake your age when you can just shoot a text to your home-dizzle down the street?
Three. Its a gateway drug. Even though people say its not and nicotine may be a more effective instigator. Allow the DEA to summarize: “since legalization of marijuana in Holland, heroin addiction levels have tripled.”
Four. Lets learn from precedent. Alaska supreme court legalized cannabis use for adults over 19 in 1975. By 1988 the cannabis use for 12-17 year-old Alaskans was more than twice the national average for their age group. In 1990 Alaskan residents voted to recriminalize the use of cannabis. Lets not repeat history.
Five. When you suck back on that bong, you won’t be the only one affected. Locke didn’t mention marijuana. He did mention fences. He would have liked your joint to have a governement enforced fence around it ensure nobody jacked it. However, if when you inhaled your psychotic fumes and then consistently decided to do something foolish, like hop over some on elses fence and steal their big screen TV, Locke would probably have said, “its time for you to give up that weed, brother.”
Brief example. My friend’s Eagle Scout project in a neighborhood park installing benches, of course. One bench went missing. We found our bench in a shady fort on the backside of some nearby wetlands. An empty, over-sized Hawaian Punch bottle lay on the ground with a tube stuck in it for sucking. We took our bench.
But who’s to say, that was in terrible Washington, maybe weed smokers in Idaho do inconspicuous acts of kindness.
Cannanbis is a tall plant used to produce hemp fiber and as psychotropic drug. Cannabis contains 400 different chemical compounds including psychoactive A9-tetrahydrocannabinol. “11 percent of the US population over the age of 12 uses cannabis annually, including 28 percent of people aged 18-25, and over a third of children in their final year in school.”
The opinion of cannabis and its effects, like many things, swing on a pendulum. It has moved from the widespread international banning of cannabis products in the early 20th century to the rise of illicit drug use by the counter-culture of the 1970’s to the present day trend of legalizing it for medical use. However, as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime stated in a recent study “the pendulum may have swung too far in the opposite direction.”
It has become a somewhat childish trend to argue for the legalization of cannabis because “yeah, dude, we’ve got to protect our rights, man” because Bob Marley was legit and its all about the Love. Lets put the coolness of tie-dye and and dread-locked hippies aside for a moment and consider reality, not idealized philosophical big words.
I offer 5 points against the legalization of cannabis.
One. If cannabis were legalized because it only harms “oneself” then it logically entails that all other similar substances would also need to be legalized, including less-favorable substances such as LSD, cocaine, and heroine.
Two. The presumption that legalizing the drug will undercut and destroy the black market trade of the substance is established on muddy grounds to say the least. Cannabis would likely become purchasable in the local gas station pinned with a sin tax and an age requirement. Why pay the extra price and fake your age when you can just shoot a text to your home-dizzle down the street?
Three. Its a gateway drug. Even though people say its not and nicotine may be a more effective instigator. Allow the DEA to summarize: “since legalization of marijuana in Holland, heroin addiction levels have tripled.”
Four. Lets learn from precedent. Alaska supreme court legalized cannabis use for adults over 19 in 1975. By 1988 the cannabis use for 12-17 year-old Alaskans was more than twice the national average for their age group. In 1990 Alaskan residents voted to recriminalize the use of cannabis. Lets not repeat history.
Five. When you suck back on that bong, you won’t be the only one affected. Locke didn’t mention marijuana. He did mention fences. He would have liked your joint to have a governement enforced fence around it ensure nobody jacked it. However, if when you inhaled your psychotic fumes and then consistently decided to do something foolish, like hop over some on elses fence and steal their big screen TV, Locke would probably have said, “its time for you to give up that weed, brother.”
Brief example. My friend’s Eagle Scout project in a neighborhood park installing benches, of course. One bench went missing. We found our bench in a shady fort on the backside of some nearby wetlands. An empty, over-sized Hawaian Punch bottle lay on the ground with a tube stuck in it for sucking. We took our bench.
But who’s to say, that was in terrible Washington, maybe weed smokers in Idaho do inconspicuous acts of kindness.
All in all this is my argument. That being said and done, if I get to smoke my weed in a pipe, maybe I'll be in.
Hooka is flavored tobacco, not weed. By legalizing it they could effectively control pricing and make it much more beneficial for your "home-dizzle" down the street to sell his crop to a gov't wholesaler instead of you. Just saying.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're going into political science.
ReplyDeletealthough weed may be a gateway drug, it definitely does not mean that other hard drugs should also be legalized. LSD, cocaine, heroine, etc are on a complete different level. believe the potheads when they say cannabis is natural and does little harm to your body. and people that get drunk and shitfaced are much more likely to do stupid, irrational things like steal someones tv or move a bench to a shady area...i say legalize and decrimnize weed. amen
ReplyDeleteShould we make all substances that can lead to irrational behavior illegal?
ReplyDeletePerhaps my scope isn't as large as yours, John, but I would say yes. I don't see any reason for alcohol or any other drug to be legal. And of course, there is no reason to be extreme, the proper balance should be maintained.
ReplyDelete