Marijuana Should Be Legalized Because Its Prohibition Unnecessarily Taxes Law Enforcement: Should marijuana use be legalized?

  WiseTo Social Issues Digest  Thomson Gale 2007

Marijuana Should Be Legalized Because Its Prohibition Unnecessarily Taxes Law Enforcement

Should marijuana use be legalized?

The responsible use of marijuana should be legalized since it is fundamentally no more dangerous than the use of legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol. Evidence is lacking in regard to both marijuana's addictive quality and its potential as a gateway drug. Because of investigations, arrests, trials, and incarcerations involving marijuana, law enforcement and judicial resources are unnecessarily burdened. Millions of Americans who smoke marijuana with little negative impact on society at large are threatened by a climate where the penalties for engaging in marijuana use are too severe. The currently illegal marijuana trade promotes crime by contributing to a dangerous black market for unregulated marijuana. A policy that allows for the decriminalization, legalization, and regulation of marijuana use for responsible adults is needed to give Americans freedom of choice in deciding whether to smoke marijuana.

Marijuana use among adults should be allowed in the spirit of the legalization of such drugs as tobacco and alcohol. Prior to the "Marihuana Tax Act" of 1937, people used marijuana without restriction. R. Keith Stroup, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, argues that the 1937 law was passed in a climate where marijuana was demonized by media and political interests. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics declared that a marijuana user "becomes a fiend with savage or `cave man' tendencies. His sex desires are aroused and some of the most horrible crimes result. He hears light and sees sound. To get away from it, he suddenly becomes violent and may kill." Newspapers also made hyperbolic claims; among them the Journal of Law and Criminology reported on the habit of marijuana use, alleging that "[i]f continued, the inevitable result is insanity, which those familiar with it describe as absolutely incurable, and, without exception ending in death." Throughout the remainder of the century, further legislation resulted in harsh penalties for people possessing, growing, using, or selling marijuana. This legal climate has hampered investigations into the possible benefits of using marijuana to alleviate nausea and suffering caused by certain medical conditions. Although some states have put measures in place that protect citizens from severe consequences for marijuana possession and use, the vast majority recommend jail time or impose stiff fines for convictions.

Law enforcement and judicial resources are disproportionately wasted on crimes involving marijuana. While few argue against arresting irresponsible users of marijuana, many believe that the general effort to restrict its use keeps people from focusing on more severe and violent crimes. Criminalizing marijuana creates the false impression that it is as dangerous as more addictive drugs of like heroin and cocaine. Making marijuana legal and regulating it would take the criminal element out of its trafficking. Stroup, in testimony before Congress, criticized the disproportionate attention that marijuana offenses receive, stating: "By stubbornly defining all marijuana smoking as criminal, including that which involves adults smoking in the privacy of their home, government is wasting police and prosecutorial resources, clogging courts, filling costly and scarce jail and prison space, and needlessly wrecking the lives and careers of genuinely good citizens."

Resources
Earleywine, Mitch. "Marijuana Is Not a Gateway to Other Addictive Drugs." Addiction. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004.
Males, Mike. "The Problem of Youth Substance Abuse Is Exaggerated." America's Youth. Ed. Roman Espejo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003.
Page, Clarence. "The Harmful Effects of Marijuana Use Are Exaggerated." Drug Abuse. Ed. Tamara L. Roleff. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005.
Stroup, R. Keith. "Marijuana Use Should Be Decriminalized." Marijuana. Ed. Mary E. Williams. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003.

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