Pubdate: Wed, 21 Feb 2007
Source: Diamondback, The (U of MD Edu)
Copyright: 2007 Diamondback
Contact:  http://www.diamondbackonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/758
Author: Blake Smith
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

THINK BEFORE YOU SMOKE

Let me get my MJ stance out of the way first: We should loosen our 
regulations on marijuana and study it more. The problem today is 
because marijuana is a controlled, dangerous substance, only the 
government can do research on it. Thus, their research will be 
biased. So it's a cycle of abuse that usually ends in a stalemate. I 
would much prefer to deal with a stoner than a drunkard, because 
alcohol is a depressant and cannabis is a non-addictive, mild 
hallucinogen. It's insane the government states cannabis makes you aggressive.

But the fact still stands: Today, it's illegal.

If you thought that just because yesterday was 4/20 the police were 
going to cut you a break, you were dead wrong. They were out in force 
last night. Instead of pulling traffic on Route 193, they were all 
around the campus looking for stoners.

If you're caught smoking marijuana, the police will arrest you and 
send you to jail for the night. If you plan on coming back to the 
campus after being kicked out of housing for a year, you will be in a 
horrible priority bracket. If you are arrested for drug possession, 
most jobs will toss your resume in the trash. If you are looking to 
go into law enforcement (criminology majors), many employers have 
very, very strict regulations for drug usage. Many law enforcement 
agencies require you to not smoke pot for five years before you apply 
- - remember, this comes up in the polygraph test, so you can't just 
lie about it.

My point? If you're going to smoke, just don't get caught - go smoke 
off the campus. Don't screw your life up because of one day.

Blake Smith

Junior

Criminology and criminal justice
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman