In
California today, a bill is up for vote called Proposition 19. Also known as
‘the regulate, control and tax cannabis act,’ this bill has the potential to
change and benefit California greatly if passed. Prop 19 would legalize various
marijuana related activities while allowing local governments to regulate such
activities and collect related fees and taxes. Many rules and regulations come
with the passing of this bill as well as more room for local governments to
impose their own set of requirements and standards on the retail sale of
marijuana. Prop 19 states persons age 21 years and older may possess up to an
ounce of marijuana for personal consumption and can grow cannabis at a private
residence in a space of up to 25 square feet. It also states that marijuana
consumption will only be allowed in certain designated places as well as
allowing local governments to control the hours, location, and advertisements
of such places. Proposition 19 covers various different regulations as well as
penalties and punishments in order to ensure the government has complete
control over legal marijuana sales.
If Proposition 19 hopes to pass, it’s important that
Americans examine the United States history with drug policies over the last
200 years. During the 19th century, opiate drugs were legal and
commonly used in a wide variety of products (Joffe, 2004). For example, heroin
was used to sedate coughs while cocaine was used to counter the negative
effects of morphine. Addiction rates for opiate drugs followed a pattern in
booms and drops until the 1960’s when marijuana took over. Over this time
period, the perception of risk from regular use of marijuana was very low
causing many adolescents to experiment with the drug. Even officials from the
Drug Enforcement Agency acknowledged during this time that prohibiting
marijuana was detrimental to society. The DEA stated, “the fight against
marijuana detracts from more important work of combating heroin use.” (Joffe,
2004). The number of drug incarcerations for marijuana charges dropped in 1960
and remained low until 1979. At this time, the Carter Administration proposed
removing criminal sanctions for small possession charges of marijuana. While
this was not passed as a federal law, it started the conversation about
marijuana that has brought the United States on the brink of legalization
today.
Though the legalization of marijuana has many great
benefits, most people are uneducated on how marijuana really affects the body
and therefore tend to oppose passing prop 19. However, many of the stigmas
attached to smoking marijuana are false or misunderstood. Behind alcohol and
tobacco, marijuana is the most popular recreational drug in America. According
to government surveys, around 25 million Americans have smoked marijuana in the
past year, and more than 14 million do so regularly regardless of the harsh
laws against its use. With numbers this high, U.S public policies should
reflect and aid this reality by providing marijuana for safe legal use, not
denying it. By comparison, marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol and
tobacco, 2 completely legal substances. Around 50,000 deaths are attributed
each year from alcohol poisoning, and similarly, over 400,000 people die each
year from tobacco smoking. On the other hand, marijuana is nontoxic and cannot
cause death by overdose. According to a prestigious European medical journal, The Lancet, “The smoking of cannabis,
even long-term, is not harmful to health…It would be reasonable to judge
cannabis as less of a threat…than alcohol or tobacco.” (Gieringer, 1994). In
addition, many studies have been conducted concerning how marijuana affects the
brain and lungs of a smoker. The editors of the highly respected Consumer
Reports published a book by Edward M. Brecher titled, “Licit and illicit drugs”
revealing the truth about marijuana and health problems after an exhaustive
five year study. In his studies, Brecher disproved many myths about marijuana
including the idea that smoking marijuana causes a reduction in motivation. In
his study he reports finding that his test subjects “actually perform more
motions and expend more energy after smoking marijuana than before”
(“Marijuana: Truth on health problems” 2). The study also disproves the idea
that marijuana causes brain damage and lung cell damage. For both tests, the
results came back negative, stating that “X-rays of lungs were normal in both
smokers and nonsmokers,” as well as concluding “long-term marijuana use by
these [test subjects] did not produce demonstrable intellectual or ability
deficits when they were without the drug for three days. There is no evidence
in the results to suggest brain damage.”
Contrary
to popular belief, marijuana is not an addictive substance. According to the Common Sense Drug Policy,
“less than 1% of people who consume marijuana do so on a daily or nearly daily
basis [and] an even smaller percent develops dependence on marijuana.” On the other hand, approximately 70% of all
cigarette smokers want to quit, but only about 7% stay off nicotine for more
than a year. Paired with all the deaths attributed to smoking each year, it is
astonishing that something as harmless as smoking marijuana is illegal when
cigarettes and other tobacco products are completely legal.
Not only is the prohibition of marijuana unpractical in a
health sense, but it is even more unpractical from a government financial
standpoint. A study by the libertarian Cato Institute found that turning
cannabis into a regulated commodity would save California roughly $8.7 billion
in law enforcement costs annually. Enforcing marijuana prohibition also results
in the arrest of over 853,000 people per year, far more than the total number
of arrests for all violent crimes combined. Of those charged with marijuana
violations, about 88% were charged with possession only, and roughly 30% of
those arrested were age 19 or younger. Additionally, marijuana arrests for
possession alone made up 44.6% of all drug related arrests in 2008 according to
the FBI crime report. These numbers and statistics are entirely too high for a
drug that is less harmful to the user than the already legal substances,
tobacco and alcohol. Criminalization has only increased marijuana’s
profitability as well as the violence that comes with its trafficking. Today
there is a group made-up exclusively of retired and still working police
officers called the “Law Enforcement Against Prohibition” group. Jack Cole, the
executive director of this group, expressed, “It would be an enormous economic
stimulus if we stopped wasting so much money arresting and locking people up
for nonviolent drug offenses and instead brought new tax revenue from legal
sales.” As a cash-strapped state,
California cannot afford to keep prohibiting marijuana. Just decriminalizing
marijuana would bring the state extra cash in savings, but full legalization
would generate additional profits that local governments can put towards better
use. California already collects a staggering $18 million annually from medical
marijuana sales, but has the potential to bring $1.3 billion annually from
recreational sales.
Even though the benefits to legalizing marijuana in
California are clear, Proposition 19 opposers raise a strong argument about
marijuana being a gateway drug. According to a study by the Christchurch School
of Medicine and Health Sciences in New Zealand, “The gateway hypothesis
implicitly assumes a casual chain sequence in which …cannabis is used prior to
the onset of other illicit drugs and…the use of cannabis increases the
likelihood of using other illicit drugs.” (Fergusson, Boden, Horwood, 2006). There
is no denying that there is truth in this argument. Almost every time an addict
tells their story, it starts off with one about marijuana since a person who
smokes marijuana is “more than 104 times more likely to use cocaine than a
person who never tries pot,” according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
However, this argument is incredibly flimsy once further analyzed. For example,
most children enjoy playing basketball during their childhood. Though they
might love playing basketball and continue to do so up through high school and
possibly even college, an incredibly tiny percent will go on to play
professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Someone who played
basketball as a child is more likely to play in the NBA as an adult than
someone who never played basketball as a child. This is not to say, however,
that all children who played basketball growing up will make it to the NBA. The
same can be said about marijuana as a gateway drug. While it is undeniable that
a person who smokes marijuana is more likely to try other drugs later on, the
vast majority of marijuana users will not graduate to harder illicit drugs.
Another concern of Proposition 19 opposers is how
legalization will affect the youth in California. Many are worried that if
legalized, the ease of accessibility of marijuana to the youth will increase.
While this is a legitimate concern seeing as many teenagers somehow manage to
get their hands on alcohol before turning the age of 21, statistics show fewer
minors are able to access it because of this age law. It’s easier for the
government to keep underage people from drinking because retailers of such products
with age laws attached are in fear of losing their business or being arrested
for selling to minors. This causes anyone underage to find someone old enough
to be the “middle-man,” per se, to make their purchase for them. Typically, it
is very difficult for minors without much older siblings to find a middle man to
make their purchase for them because they usually only associate with other
minors close to their age group. However, with an illegal substance that
requires no age to purchase, teens are finding marijuana to be more readily
accessible in its illicit state than tobacco or alcohol products. If made
legal, the ease of access to marijuana for minors will be much more difficult,
and a drop in underage arrests will be seen.
In conclusion, the passing of Proposition 19 would bring
many great benefits to the state of California. Not only is legalization a
practical idea when looking at health effects, but it also has the potential to
generate an enormous legal profit for California’s local governments. Even
though some arguments opposing legalization are strong and do raise legitimate
concerns, Proposition 19 has California’s best interests at heart. Each day,
Proposition 19 gains more support because citizens of California are starting
to see that the benefits to the passing of this bill outweigh the mild risks.
