Pubdate: Fri, 12 Apr 2002
Source: Harvard Crimson (MA Edu)
Copyright: 2002, The Harvard Crimson, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.thecrimson.harvard.edu/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/794

DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA

With regulation, drug's harms would disappear-along with the cost of 
enforcement

Last Saturday, Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico and Dr. Lester Grinspoon of 
the Harvard Medical School rightly advocated the decriminalization of 
marijuana. These men should be commended for having the courage to address 
issues that most politicians and academics choose to avoid. As they pointed 
out, the prohibition of marijuana causes more injustice and social problems 
than the drug itself-similar to the alcohol prohibition in the 1920s-and 
thus the ban on its use should end.

Last year, the government spent approximately $30 billion of state, local 
and federal tax dollars and arrested more than 734,000 individuals to 
support the futile and destructive prohibition of marijuana. But even with 
all the government's money and arrests, last year 89 percent of high school 
seniors said marijuana was "fairly or very easy" to get.

Not surprisingly, marijuana enjoys widespread use and is far from 
dangerous. Eighty million Americans have tried marijuana, making it the 
third most popular drug in the United States. The only two more popular 
drugs, alcohol and tobacco, are both far more dangerous (and yet legal), 
with alcohol poisoning causing approximately 50,000 deaths per year and 
tobacco use causing over 400,000.

America should adopt a system resembling that of the Netherlands, which 
allows adults to use marijuana responsibly and minimizes minors' 
exposure-leading to lower use among adolescents than in the United States. 
Marijuana is sold in government-regulated "coffee shops," which must follow 
five basic regulations: no advertising, no sales of hard drugs, no 
nuisance, no sales to people under 18 and no sales of more than five grams 
per transaction. Individual municipalities can regulate closing times and 
other rules for coffee shops. In general, individuals are allowed to 
possess up to 30 grams (about one ounce) for personal use.

By regulating rather than prohibiting the marijuana market, America can 
benefit greatly from tax revenue brought in by shops like these. The 
marijuana trade, estimated by some to be the biggest cash crop in the 
United States, would generate revenues in the billions with a moderate tax 
of 50 cents per joint. Even with higher taxes, the legally distributed 
marijuana would still undercut the illegal prices because black market 
price inflation is so high. Thus decriminalization would eliminate the 
black market for marijuana.

Marijuana has long been called a gateway drug, with opponents alleging that 
its use leads to harder narcotics. But in 2001, a study published by a 
federal agency, the National Institute of Justice, found that even though 
marijuana use rose during the 1990s among 18- to 20-year- olds arrested, 
young offenders did not seem to be using marijuana to get into harder 
drugs. It went on to state that this trend would be "good news" if it meant 
a "rejection of crack and heroin due to their potentially devastating 
consequences."

Although people who have used cocaine are statistically more likely than 
the general population to have tried marijuana, this proves only a 
correlation, not causation. Certain personality types are more likely to 
take risks-and thus more likely to break the law and use drugs. These 
people will choose to use hard drugs whether or not marijuana is 
decriminalized.

The only direct connection between marijuana use and hard drug use is that 
many drug dealers who sell marijuana also sell hard drugs. This means 
marijuana users can often get hard drugs with ease. If the government were 
to separate the two markets by decriminalizing marijuana, as has been done 
in Amsterdam, it would give marijuana users less access to-and temptation 
to use-hard drugs.

Decriminalization would also allow ill patients to use marijuana for 
medical reasons. Marijuana is currently used to relieve nausea caused by 
cancer chemotherapy, increase appetite in AIDS patients, relieve 
intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients and reduce muscle spasms in 
multiple sclerosis sufferers. While 10 states have moved to legalize 
medical marijuana, federal law keeps patients in fear of being arrested and 
prevents many doctors from recommending marijuana to patients who could 
benefit from it. Medical marijuana would be cheap, versatile and 
beneficial. Decriminalization will clearly improve the lives of many ill 
Americans.

Several government-appointed commissions, President Nixon's 1972 National 
Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse being the most well known, have 
recommended decriminalizing marijuana. President Carter's words in 1977 are 
especially true today: "Penalties against drug use should not be more 
damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this 
more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in private 
for personal use." Congress should immediately move towards decriminalization.

Dissent: Keep A Lid on the Pot

Not only is it very likely that marijuana harms its users; it is a gateway 
drug that, in many cases, starts teenagers on a slippery slope towards 
abusing even more dangerous narcotics. Though the war on drugs has its 
problems, the billions of dollars spent fighting it have prevented 
immeasurable tragedy.

The cost of enforcement may be high, but throwing up our hands in defeat 
and decriminalizing marijuana is not the solution.

David M. DeBartolo, '03
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart