Let's
talk about drugs. Not just any drug, but let's talk about marijuana. You can do
a lot of things with this versatile plant. Historically it was used as hemp to
make rope and clothes, but it also is smoked, eaten, and used as medicine to
reduce pain or decrease seizures. What many people do not know is that there
is a war going on over this plant. This war is not fought on the battlefield on
foreign soil, but here in the United States. It is a battle that has been
going on for over 50 years, do to changing attitudes of both the government and
American society as a whole.
Let’s
take a step back and get a little history lesson on marijuana and why this war
is going on. Marijuana comes from the hemp plant called Cannabis Sativa. If you
do not know about this plant, let me tell you a little bit about it. It is most
commonly nicknamed “pot” or “weed” for its dried leaves and flowers. Marijuana
is so commonly known that you could go around ask anyone in the United States
if they have heard about marijuana and I bet almost every single person you ask
will say yes they have heard of it. Marijuana is a drug that can be smoked or
eaten for its mind altering chemical called tetrahydrocannabinol or THC.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, this chemical alters
your state of mind by altering your sense of sight, sense of time, and changes
your mood. This drug also impairs your thinking and problem solving skills, as
well as your memory. This is why for the longest time this drug was illegal as
it gets people 'high' and if you were caught with having any amount on you, you
would be charged and arrested. Depending on how the cops felt and how much
marijuana you had on you, you could be sentenced to years in prison. Now you
probably think, “well if it is an illegal drug then there won’t be that many
arrests for it compared to other drugs.” If you think this, then I’m sorry to
tell you that there are more arrests made per day for marijuana possession than
any other drug in the United States. To be exact, about 52% of all drug arrests
are from marijuana according to American Civil Liberties Union. This may sound
great as all these people are getting arrested for doing something illegal, but
what about can we say about that now in 2016 when public opinion on marijuana
has changed so much?
In 2016, twenty-six
states and the District of Columbia have some type of laws that has legalized
marijuana. This is happening because marijuana is also used for medical
purposes. Yes, I just said that marijuana can be used for medical purposes. As
of right now, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana is
being used medically to reduce pain, swelling, redness, seizures, and muscle
control. It is also being used to help treat cancer. From firsthand experience,
I have seen what this does to a cancer patient as my girlfriends mom had breast
cancer and use to take cannabis oil pills to help with the cancer treatment.
She would take it to help her sleep at night as she would get hot flashes and
would be waking up in pain. This is just one example on how this drug could
help our medical studies and medical solutions as there are so much more to the
medical treatment side of marijuana that still has yet to be found. Now how can
it be right to arrest someone for using a drug that can also be a medicine?
Let us think about that
for a second. We are arresting people for the use of a drug that could
potentially help them as a treatment, but because the government said this drug
is illegal they are spending money and resources which could be seen as
counterproductive. Now you tell me, do you think it is okay to put a
person, who may not be able to afford health care, into jail with violent
offenders just because they were trying to treat themselves? I know not all
people who use this drug are using it for medical issues, but what about the
percentage that are. If you look at this now in 2016, we treated these people
like violent criminals and sentenced them to time in prison, but many states
are legalizing marijuana for recreational use. Those people who spent time in
prison just for a small amount or usage of marijuana will now never get that
time they spent in prison back. That could be a year or a couple of years of
their life gone for something that is currently no longer illegal. You could go
so far to say that it was a waste of money, man hours, and resources that could
have been used elsewhere. Also, what about those people who are still in
jail right now for using marijuana? Do you think they will have to still live
out their sentences? Personally, I think they will, but only for one reason,
and that reason is money.
According to drug war statistics from
DrugPolicy.org says "more than $51,000,000,000 is spent annually in the
U.S. on the war on drugs" (2). Now if you are like me, you saw that number
and was dumbfounded at the amount of money we spend EACH year on this war on
drugs! All this money is being spent because of three reasons: there are too
many arrests, these arrests cost too much, and the privatization of prisons.
Let’s take a look at the two pictures below from American Civil Liberties Union.
So
what this is saying is out of the 51 billion dollars of American people’s tax
money, about 3.6 billion of it is wasted just for enforcing marijuana laws and
every thirty-seven seconds a cop busts someone for marijuana. Doesn’t this seem
to be wasting our police officers time? The police are out busting people for
marijuana, when they could be using their time to saving someone’s life.
Instead they want to keep being sheep in the system and keep feeding the
privatize prisons our tax money. Is a human’s life worth our tax money just for
something that twenty-six states have legalized marijuana in some way? Is it
worth taking away someone's loved one or friend to prison in one state but if
they were in a legalized state where it would be okay? What happens to this
person who went to prison for the usage of marijuana and now cannot contribute
to society anymore. Now because they have this felony on their record that
means nothing anymore in those states who see marijuana as legal substance.
They cannot get a good job as most companies would look down upon then for this
when it was merely a drug that can be used for medical purposes.
Some may say that it is a good idea to send them to
prison because it is illegal in those few states, but what about the after
affects of prison? Why incarcerate these nonviolent offenders and put them with
violent offenders. All this is doing is filling the prisons and taking away
room for the real people who deserve to be in this spot. This is kind of like
telling child not run by the pool on one side but on the other side it is okay.
you are setting a social norm of what is right and wrong when twenty-six states
see this as a legal drug.
We all know there is a definite line between what is right
and from what is wrong, but right now the whole country is split. So why don't
we push to legalize marijuana in all states and just tax it like tobacco or alcohol
and put an age limit on it. The government still gets our tax money, people of
the right of age can still use marijuana in whatever way they need it and the
police force can stop spending so much money on this drug and go after the more
important things like saving someone's life. This 3.6 billion dollars spent on
marijuana could be swapped and the government could be gaining this amount of
money from the sales of this drug. This would also allow more medical studies
happen on marijuana as more patients could be taking it more freely and not
have to worry about getting arrested for this medicine they are using. Now
these are my thoughts on this social issue, I would love to hear your thoughts
on this as this is a current issue after the 2016 Election. I have linked my sources below for anyone to take a look and read more about this issue.
My sources:
https://www.aclu.org/gallery/marijuana-arrests-numbers
http://www.drugpolicy.org/drug-war-statistics
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana-medicine
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