Should marijuana be legalized?
By Kelly Running
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听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The other day as I scrolled through my Facebook the usual advertisements popped up, but I also saw numerous references to 420, April 20. Now I鈥檓 not sure how that time/day was chosen, but similar to people drinking and saying, 鈥淚t鈥檚 five o鈥檆lock somewhere,鈥� a 420 culture has developed surrounding marijuana.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 This sparked our topic of debate this week, should marijuana be legalized?
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 As I began researching the topic it became evident that a lot of money surrounds the production and sale of it. According to one article I came across, cannabis is actually the largest cash crop in the United States. If it were legalized more people could benefit from the production of marijuana and hemp. Although the article said that Canada and some European countries have developed industrial hemp production it could further be used in numerous other forms including use as bio-fuel. It would also allow for the diversification of crops grown allowing farmers to have a wider range of produce. Currently it is a specialty crop in Canada.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Legalizing marijuana would allow more farmers to cultivate hemp and the whole of the industry, both currently legal and illegal, could be taxed by the government. This money could be used for a variety of programs or initiatives in our country.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 If worried about growing the crop, I think marijuana would lose its novelty of being grown quickly. Did you know that Tasmania, Australia, is the world鈥檚 largest producer of opium for pharmaceutics? That鈥檚 right growing poppy is a part of their economy. Opium is a much stronger drug, but although the white crops speckle the countryside, the only story I heard while there about something getting into the crop that shouldn鈥檛 be was a wallaby. Apparently it just spun circles for awhile, had a nap, and continued along with its day.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Obviously there would be the few that would go out and try to steal some, but ultimately that is criminally punishable as theft if marijuana were to be legalized, while the act of trespassing is also punishable.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 If legal, then arrests for marijuana wouldn鈥檛 be of concern, and policing can focus on more serious matters. There are also the costs associated with the entire legal system and going through the court systems鈥� It鈥檚 really taking time from police, lawyers, and clogging up the legal system.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Through researching this topic I discovered that studies show alcohol, which is legal, causes more issues than weed. It鈥檚 been measured that marijuana鈥檚 toxicity level to humans is minimal when compared to alcohol and tobacco products. Marijuana overdoses are, according to the study I was reading, nearly impossible.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Marijuana also has proven medicinal properties. Medical marijuana provides relief from pain, nausea, and many other symptoms with very few side effects. Different strains of marijuana can also come with different levels of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), this is the part of the plant which induces the 鈥渉igh鈥� associated with smoking cannabis. By breeding the plants in certain ways marijuana can be made in different potencies for different prescriptions needed.
听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 The ability to make different potencies actually means that if legalized the government could put restrictions on this aspect of legal marijuana for recreational use as well. The same way that there are limits put on the food industry for how much trans fat is allowed in a product.
Legalize pot? Perhaps not...
听Lynne Bell
听听听听 This column is not an argument either for or against the use of marijuana. My middle-aged, mom-ish self is now part of a demographic that is more in tune with the use of pot medically, rather than听听 recreationally, so I feel I would be spectacularily unqualified to make an emotional argument on either the pro or the con side on whether the use of pot is morally right or wrong.
听听听听 However, this week, I am assigned to argue why marijuana should not be legalized for recreational use in Canada. As I mentioned, I haven't given pot a thought for well...decades. I think medically, marijuana is a wondrous thing, and criminally, I don't think a young person should emerge from court with a record for simply doing what some kids do, which is experimenting, and in some cases, making unwise decisions along the way to adulthood.
听听听听 Given my own muddled feelings about marijuana, I decided to approach this argument logically. Canadian statistics were tough to find (sorry!), but several U.S. studies (I'll spare you the footnotes), make a compelling argument for not legalizing marijuana for recreational use, one being that 鈥渢he greatest costs to marijuana are not related to its prohibition; they are the costs resulting from marijuana use itself.鈥�
听听听 That quote didn't come from a legal or medical journal. It came from CNBC Business News. In an article entitled 鈥淲hy We Should Not Legalize Marijuana鈥�, a compelling case is made for not legalizing pot, from a pro-business, pro-productivity point of view.
听听听听听 Aside from the pain-in-the-neck factor of having a stoner on the payroll, the article states that the main financial cost of marijuana use to the nation is surprisingly, not related to America's criminal justice system. The author even calls for a drug policy that will not offer up a stark choice between punishment or treatment, but ideally, to have the legal and public health systems work together to get certain pot users into treatment, in order 鈥渢o improve both public safety and public health.鈥�
听听听听 In a perfect world, this would mean that someone who is arrested for a drug-related crime-dealing perhaps?- early in their blossoming criminal career, could potentially be flagged for, and receive treatment, instead of travelling down the dead-end road leading to bigger crimes, harsher sentencing, and a life derailed.
听听听听 And, as any police officer will tell you, marijuana is an intoxicant, and anyone under the influence is a danger to themselves and others, if they choose to get behind the wheel as a drugged driver.
听听听听 Another, less hypothetical argument states that the economic benefits of two legal drugs-alcohol and tobacco-don't really exist. I'm citing U.S. (2010) statistics here, but in 2010, U.S. tax revenue collected from alcohol was an estimated $14.5 billion (that's state and federal combined) while alcohol-related costs were a staggering $185 billion. Tobacco presents the same economic nightmare, with $25 billion state and federal taxes collected in 2010, with costs to the nation estimated at over $200 billion. I think we could make the same argument in this country.
听听听听 These numbers are the canary in the coal mine for any argument stating that legalizing marijuana would be a good economic deal for any government, anywhere.
听听听听听 The adverse effects of alcohol and tobacco are well-known, and it's certainly too late for a turnaround. However, before we consider legalizing marijuana for recreational use in Canada, we must not only look at the potential human cost to our nation, but the economic one as well.
