Pubdate: Wed, 20 May 2009
Source: Guardian (Wright State U, OH Edu)
Copyright: 2009 Guardian
Contact: http://www.theguardianonline.com/2.9150
Website: http://www.theguardianonline.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4586
Author: Charles Edwards
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n427/a06.html
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n481/a09.html

KEEPING MARIJUANA ILLEGAL IS HYPOCRITICAL

The response to the article [editorial] "Finance the Bailout: 
Legalize Weed" was published on 4-29-2009. The author feels that 
legalizing marijuana for tax dollars has a larger moral cost to it. 
The reasons that the author gives for not legalizing marijuana are 
that marijuana leads to harder drugs, marijuana is a harmful 
substance, and that there would still be other drugs.

For some people marijuana leads to harder drugs, for others caffeine, 
alcohol, or prescription medication leads to other drugs.

The author says, "When people are told not to do something, it 
usually just makes them want to do it more." If this is true, it 
means that if marijuana was legal that less people would do it since 
no one is telling them that they can't use marijuana.

Also, people are already told not to use hard drugs, so what 
difference would legalizing marijuana make? Marijuana is a harmful 
substance, but so are energy drinks, alcohol, cigarettes, and other 
legal substances. Marijuana is less harmful to your body than 
alcohol, which kills parts of your brain. It is hypocritical to keep 
marijuana illegal when so many other dangerous substances are legal.

The police will always have to fight crime.

How wouldn't lessening the workload of a police officer be 
beneficial? Our prisons are overcrowded, nonviolent marijuana 
offenders should not be locked up with murders and hard drug users, 
this only creates worse criminals. If we could free up cells in 
prison then we would have more room to lock up the pedophiles that 
the courts allow to live in our neighborhoods. The cost of policing 
marijuana should not increase the workload of an officer.

The routine search wouldn't change; they already look for people 
driving under the influence.

Overall, I believe that legalizing marijuana would be beneficial to 
our country.

It would give our country more tax money to work with. It would also 
cut out the black market.

The prisons would be less crowded and the police would have one less 
thing to worry about. America is a free country and people should not 
be told how to live their life when they are harming no one.

Charles Edwards
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom