Plea for a Closer Look
by Ryan Dohner
Almost any channel you flip through, sporting event you attend, or restaurant you dine at, alcohol will be advertised or found within minutes. Based off the widespread consumption of alcohol you would think this drink is some kind of miracle cure for old age, but in reality it is quite the opposite. While alcohol has some pleasurable effects such as self-confidence, relaxation, and release of inhibitions, these effects oftentimes result in many poor choices. Some of the unplanned effects of drinking too much alcohol include getting into fights, becoming vulgar, impairment to drive, unaware of dangers around you, and an increased risk to have unprotected sex.
If the textbook definition taken out of a medical dictionary is used, a drug may be defined as a chemical substance that affects the processes of the mind or body. In this case, alcohol would be 100 percent factually classified as a drug. Additionally, drugs tend to result in withdrawal symptoms when used habitually for an extended period of time. Just as caffeine or cigarettes are addictive and cause withdrawal, alcohol results in very uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms as well.
Given all this, why is it that alcohol is the only drug truly glorified by our country? America seems to be engulfed in this liquid substance with no signs of slowing down. On the other hand our government and elder generation shun Marijuana, a drug with proven studies that show considerably less health risks and danger to others. The prohibition obviously didn’t work for alcohol, and I think it is clearly the same for marijuana. The parallel between alcohol prohibition and marijuana prohibition is just too blatant to be ignored. This article is not mean to argue that alcohol should be made illegal and marijuana should be made legal, but that if we have the freedom to drink alcohol, with all of its negative effects far outweighing marijuana, than we should have the freedom to smoke marijuana as well.
According to Mark Thornton, assistant professor at Auburn University, like
marijuana, alcohol was once an illegal substance in America from 1920-1933. The main goal of the National Prohibition of Alcohol was to reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, reduce the tax burden created by prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene in America (Thornton). According to Mark Thornton “the results of this experiment clearly indicate that it was a miserable failure on all accounts.” At the start of the prohibition alcohol consumption did decrease, but in short time increased. The effects of the prohibition in the 20’s included an increased danger in alcohol potency, rise in “organized” crime rates, court and prison systems were swelled to their breaking point, and corruption of public officials was ungovernable (Thornton). The prohibition of alcohol also removed a significant chunk of tax revenue and considerably increased government spending (Thornton). Just by doing the mildest bit of research, one can find that the government seems to be making this same exact mistake today with the prohibition of marijuana.
There are many reasons why marijuana has had trouble being viewed as a beneficial drug to our society. Here are some of the main arguments that are made against marijuana legalization and why marijuana has remained illegal: marijuana is a gateway drug, it has no accepted medical use, it is associated with unfashionable lifestyles, it has been illegal for so long that it would look bad to go against the status quo, and it is perceived as addictive (Head). Marijuana is also often times associated with laziness, bad social skills, immaturity, and rebelliousness. We do not need to focus on how to change the way we handle marijuana, but the way our government and society view it. I feel that our elder society and politicians have lost sight of the true effects of marijuana therefore I would like to show the true benefits that accompany legalizing marijuana.
During the 2007 GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate, Republican Representative Ron Paul acknowledged that currently “we have the federal government going into states that have legal medical marijuana, arresting people, --undermining state laws—arresting people who use marijuana when they’re dying with cancer and AIDS.” According to the Marijuana Policy Project, since 1995 there have been over 9.5 million arrests in the United States related to marijuana. Nearly 89% of all marijuana arrests are for possession—not manufacture or distribution (MPP). If these numbers aren’t corrupt then I don’t know what is. In my opinion this corruption involves the arresting of individuals for such a petty crime as marijuana possession. I believe in 50 years from now that America will view marijuana the same as beer, which in retrospect would make the arrests of over 700,000 people the equivalent of possessing a case of beer. Just like the prohibition of alcohol, people who have been charged with minuscule marijuana offenses are overpopulating our jails and prisons. By legalizing marijuana, the government can set the same regulations with alcohol onto marijuana, but also prevent the highly unnecessary amount of people that are stuck in jail or prison. Marijuana is clearly not a drug that is killing people or causing dozens of car crashes each second, yet the government refuses to legalize the highly economical substance.
Marijuana is currently the largest cash crop in America, totaling higher than wheat and corn combined (MPP). According to Ron Paul, the $500 billion spent on the war on drugs has been a complete failure. In relation, during the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s the annual budget of the Bureau of Prohibition went from $4.4 million to $13.4 million (Thornton). By putting regulations on marijuana but viewing it as a taxable commodity, our economy could earn up to $31 billion on tax revenue alone (MPP). Most importantly I think is the well-being and health of our society
The proven health benefits of marijuana are overwhelming. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control or CDC, in 2003 a reported 20,687 “alcohol induced deaths” occurred without even factoring in accidents and homicides (SAFER). On the other hand, the CDC states that there are no reports of any “marijuana induced deaths.” I find it ironic that a drug with no reported deaths in the history of its use has remained illegal, while alcohol continues to kill an average of 56 people per day. In addition, the health benefits that accompany marijuana far outweigh the benefits of alcohol. Some of these benefits include the slowing down of tumor growth in the lungs, breasts, and brain of cancer patients; “antispasmodic” qualities which prove to be very effective in treatment of seizures: reports of more than 300,00 cases of migraines that conventional medicine couldn’t treat: and relief of effects that glaucoma creates (COED). In fact, there has not been a single valid study that disproved the popular effects on glaucoma patients (COED). The list goes on with proven beneficial treatment for multiple sclerosis, tourette’s, OCD, IBS, Crohn’s disease, and Alzheimer’s.
If our country has the freedom to choose whether or not they can consume a liquid drug with popular labels slapped on the bottle, then I think its only fair that America is able to have this same freedom with a plant known as marijuana. As you can see, the risks, dangers, and benefits of marijuana are far more positive than alcohol. It is time for our elder society and politicians to accept the facts and overcome this old law.
Works Cited
Derysh, Igor. "10 Major Health Benefits of Marijuana." COED Magazine. 2 Sept. 2010. Web. 07 Dec. 2011.
Head, Tom. "Why Marijuana Is Illegal - Top 7 Reasons Why Marijuana Is Illegal." Civil Liberties at About.com - Your Guide to Civil Liberties News and Issues. Web. 07 Dec. 2011.
"Marijuana Prohibition Facts." Www.mpp.org. Web.
"Ron Paul on Drugs." OnTheIssues.org - Candidates on the Issues. Web. 07 Dec. 2011.
"SAFER - Alcohol vs. Marijuana." SAFER - Home. Web. 07 Dec. 2011.
Thornton, Mark. "Cato Institute Policy Analysis No. 157: Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure." The Cato Institute. Political Analysis, 07 Dec. 2011. Web. 07 Dec. 2011.
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