LEGALIZATION
1. Marijuana is a safer substance than any other drug, legal or not. There has never been a death recorded from marijuana overdose, and the DEA’s own Administrative Law Judge, Francis Young, called it “one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. People die from caffeine, aspirin, and legal prescription medications every year but there has never once been a fatality directly attributed from Marijuana. In order to overdose you would have to smoke a joint the size of a 747 jumbo jet.
2. Marijuana is less addictive than heroin, cocaine, alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
3. Marijuana is not a “gateway drug” as suggested by some. Both the Institute of Medicine, and the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, found no causal relationship between marijuana use and other illicit drug use. To say marijuana leads to other drugs is like saying drinking milk leads to drinking alcohol.
4. Despite a marked increase in admissions to drug treatment for marijuana in recent years, the Federal Government’s “Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that 58% of primary marijuana admissions were referred to treatment through the criminal justice system; this is a result of the explosion in marijuana arrests in recent years. In other words, people are given the option to go to jail or a drug treatment. That gives marijuana opposition inflated numbers to use.
5. The “War on Drugs” is largely a war on peaceful marijuana consumers. Marijuana arrests now comprise more than half of all drug arrests in the United States, according to the FBI, and in Texas, according to the Dept. of Public Safety. Nationwide, more than 45% of all drug arrests are for marijuana possession alone, totaling more than 758,000. These are taxpayers dollars waisted prosecuting something less harmful than alcohol. The War on Drugs has cost this country billions of dollars while the number of marijuana users has steadily increased. The legalization and taxation of marijuana would not only eliminate these unnecessary cost but free police officers to pursue real criminals and add millions in tax revenue.
6. Marijuana arrests are wasting precious resources. Last year in the US, according to the FBI, more than 850,000 people were arrested for marijuana, almost 90% of which were for possession alone. In Texas last year, almost 80,000 were arrested for marijuana, with more than 97% of those for possession alone. Each marijuana arrest costs taxpayers an estimated $10,000, and takes several law enforcement officers to process.
7. Marijuana legalization/regulation would help to keep it out of the hands of young people. Because marijuana is unregulated and traded exclusively on the illegal black market, it is much more accessible and dangerous to children. Since 1975 the National Institute on Drug Abuse has reported that between 83-90% of high school seniors easily obtain marijuana. Prohibition, and increases in law enforcement efforts have not, and can not, make marijuana less available to young people; only legalization and regulation can, as with tobacco, alcohol, and legal drugs. Ask yourself this question, would you rather marijuana be sold in a similar fashion to alcohol, where you must go to a licensed retailer that will verify age ? Or would you rather your teenager get it from some dealer selling it to whoever can produce the money ?
8. Marijuana use does not increase the risk of cancer, and in many cases actually decreases the risk. Since the late 1990’s, multiple scientific studies have found cannabinoids to have anti-cancer properties against a cancer cells including: brain, breast, prostate, colon, gastric, skin, leukemia, lung, uterus, cervical, pancreatic, thyroid, and lymphoma. Last year, 2009, the National Institutes on Health reported that marijuana use, even long term, is associated with a “significantly reduced risk” of head and neck cancers. Recent Marijuana studies have also shown that, contrary to popular belief, marijuana does not kill brain cells. In fact, recent studies have shown that Marijuana actually stimulates brain cells.
9. The single most dangerous thing about marijuana is it’s illegality, which leads to huge profits for underground, black market, drug dealers, and can result in a long list of serious punishments for those arrested and prosecuted for it’s use: fines, jail time, probation and mandatory drug testing, loss of driving privileges, loss of federal student aid, asset forfeiture, revocation of professional licenses including driver’s license, loss of certain welfare benefits such as food stamps, removal from public housing, loss of child custody, loss of employment.
10. Support for marijuana legalization has never been higher than it is right now. Gallup, one of the most respected polling organizations, found public support for marijuana legalization in 2010 at 46%, the highest ever recorded support, while almost 70% of Americans support legalization for medicinal purposes.
Just like with alcohol prohibition, the people will find a way to get what the people want. There are millions of marijuana users in the United States and while illegal in most of the country there is still no shortage anywhere you go. Why not regulate marijuana and take the power away from black market drug dealers ? Why don't we stop putting people in jail for something that is a victimless crime ? Why is it even a crime ? Study after study have proven that Marijuana is not only less harmful than alcohol, but actually has many medicinal purposes. Cancer, MS, glaucoma, ADD, ADHD, anxiety, pain, and depression are just some of the ailments that Marijuana has been proven to treat effectively.
It's time for Texans to take back our freedom. The added revenue our state would earn from the legalization and taxation of Marijuana could be invested in our roads, schools, and communities. The resources our government is wasting fighting a battle that it cannot win could be used to educate our children and keep the streets of Texas safer. If you want action taken it's up to you. Contact your representative and let them know you support the legalization and taxation of Marijuana. Let them know you support freedom.
