What needs to be remembered when discussing the legalization of marijuana is the orchestrated lies that initially made the plant illegal in the first place. If you do your research much can be learned. When marijuana was first introduced to the United States it became a socialite drug of choice – permited in bars, many of whom were devoted solely as a place to congregate and partake in the smoking of this exotic plant. It was around the time of the prohibition of alcohol and marijuana became the foremost “relaxation” tool. Americans, and people in general, have enjoyed a way to relax and unwide, whether its been alcohol, tobacco or marijuana. Only when aspiring polititians decided they wanted to make a name for themselves, did marijuana become a topic of debate and this is where the lies came in. False data and statistics helped this extremist group convince the country that marijuana caused hallucinations, erratic behavior and could cause insanity. The commercials produced at the time pictured young adults either laughing hysterically with crazy looks in their eyes or stumbling, half-conscious as if they had taken a roofy. Reality is far from this propaganda. In fact, marijuana continues to have less damaging effects to the body as compared with alcohol and tobacco – both of which are legal. Also, with its sedating effects, marijuana seems to be the antithesis of alcohol in that, drunk driving, angry bar fights and racial slurs in a drunken rant (just to name a few), are virtually eliminated.
A secondary concern to the American people is marijuanas ties to other drugs, i.e. cocaine, herione, etc. To legalize marijuana would, for some, cause concern regarding the next illegal drug to possibly hit the grocery store shelves. An unnecessary concern I assure you. Marijuana has absolutely no connection to any other drug whatsoever – including our prized tobacco and alcohol. A person cannot grow there own tobacco plant and harvest it and make some cigarettes. The same is true for other illegal drugs. Marijuana is the only one that can be grown in one’s own backyard and then used as instructed with no further change in its chemistry. It should be noted that every Christian and God-believing individual should support the legalization of marijuana for this notation alone. If God created the universe, Marijuana was a part of it and requires no human involvement to “tweak” it or change it to make it “work”. The only reason marijuana could be a gateway drug to other drugs is because it is classified as a drug! Psychologically speaking, once someone has felt they have “crossed the line”, there is minimal convincing that needs to be done to “cross another” if you get my point. If little Johnny has grown up hearing about saying no to the bad drugs: marijuana, heroine, and cocaine, once little Johnny tries marijuana it is that much easier for him to rationalize trying heroine too when the reality is that heroine can kill you the first time in any amount whereas no one anywhere has ever died as a direct result from smoking marijuana in any amount. It’s a gross overexaggeration to combine the drugs and label them all the same.
Finanacially speaking, High Times did a report over a decade ago that showed the government that by legallizing and taxing marijuana, we could pay off our national debt in a couple of years. There research was compiled using only known marijuana smokers, i.e. those who have been caught by the police and have a record. The real figures are estimated to be probably quadruple that if not more. Not only would the country benefit from the taxation of marijuana but we would also save money normally spent on housing “criminals” on marijuana charges in our jails.
In closing, the “Black Market” exists because we have made it exist. Take the darkness out of the transactions on the street and make them legitimate in the light, and we will find ourselves (for once) in a position of control and regulation rather than of secretive hiding and judicial intolerance.