Some have this notion that marijuana is an extremely dangerous drug that causes many deaths and irks them to believe that marijuana should be illegal. First of all, making a substance illegal doesn't solve all the problems associated with the drug. In fact, many would argue that it causes far more problems. However, before going into that, let's discuss if marijuana really is so harmful.
Part I: What distinguishes marijuana from tobacco? Is marijuana really so harmful?
I'm going to make a few seemingly crazy claims, but I will provide a solid study to support my claims. These claims do not mean that marijuana does not cause lung problems, just not the killers associated with tobacco smoking.
1) Marijuana does not appear to cause lung cancer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729.html
Although there is one other correlation study that was smaller that shows a connection, it has never been replicated. This study is the largest, most well controlled study on lung cancer and no connection was found.
2) Marijuana does not appear to cause emphysema (but does cause other lung problems).
http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/health/feeds/hscout/2007/02/21/hscout601877.html
3) In general, marijuana is less addictive than tobacco or alcohol.
"In summary, although few marijuana users develop dependence, some do. But they appear to be less likely to do so than users of other drugs (including alcohol and nicotine), and marijuana dependence appears to be less severe than dependence on other drugs." [p. 98]
http://books.nap.edu/html/marimed/
4) Marijuana does not cause overdose deaths.
"No acute lethal overdoses of cannabis are known, in contrast to several of its illegal (for example, cocaine) and legal (for example, alcohol, aspirin, acetaminophen) counterparts." (9/20/03) --British Medical Journal
http://www.bmj.com/
Part II: Marijuana prohibition does not solve the problems associated with the drug and in fact marijuana legalization would have many benefits.
1) It is currently easier for kids to get ahold of marijuana than alcohol according to CASA surveys. Regulating marijuana for adults would curb youth access to marijuana.
2) Marijuana would bring in 10-14 billion dollars in savings and government revenue every year that could be used for noble purposes rather than criminal ventures. http://www.prohibitioncosts.org/
3) Marijuana legalization would free up law enforcement time that would normally be used to arrest an adult marijuana user.
4) Marijuana legalization would free up space in jails and prisons to make room for more violent offenders.
5) Marijuana legalization would increase the liberty that adult citizens have in our society.
6) Marijuana legalization would separate marijuana from harder drugs thus reducing the exposure to other substances hampering the "gateway" effect.
7) Marijuana's potency, purity, and type could be regulated and labeled making it even safer.
8 ) Marijuana usage is not necessary connected with how harsh a marijuana law is. For instance, after Nevada lowered its penalties for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana from jail time to a fine, teenage usage actually went down. This does not mean marijuana decriminalization or legalization causes lower usage rates, but it does suggest that the law has little effect on usage and other factors play a more primary role.
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There are many questions and perhaps objections that people will bring up, but I am prepared to answer and argue them all. Feel free to comment.
Also, I made a previous thread that got locked and I'm not sure why. I changed the title of the thread. I want to make it clear I do not encourage drug usage of ANY kind, including marijuana.Â
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