Legalize. Yes, I’m talking cannabis. There are three reasons: remove crime, create jobs and save the economy. Oh, and there is always the whole “truth and honesty” thing as well.
First off, here is a message to the common stoner. Stop abusing the medical marijuana system. The bastardization of medicinal cannabis by recreational users is detrimental to the public’s opinion of the plant. By hiding behind a 215 card, you, in essence, make legitimate patients’ use appear as a gimmick to the masses.
The truth that is ultimately ignored when discussing the current status of cannabis legality is how the plant ended up being banned in the first place. In 1937, the United States Congress passed the Marihuana Tax Act. The legislation was created after numerous news stories appeared in the nation’s “yellow” papers about white women being raped by black and Hispanic men. Much controversy and conspiracy theory exists about the motivation behind such propaganda, but some truth can be brought to light in the very label the plant was given.
“Marihuana,” a misspelling of the Spanish word “Marijuana,” was seen as a completely different plant than the well known, vastly grown and valued cannabis and hemp plant. This mislabeling was a major reason that congressmen and senators at the time misunderstood the legislation. Only two different parties, a doctor from the American Medical Association and a representative of the pigeon feed industry, made an attempt to clear up the misunderstanding.
At the time, cannabis made up a large percentage of the medicines available to medical doctors. The AMA attempted to explain the need to use such drugs, but they were eventually ignored because of fear mongering on a national level. It is because of these outright phony violent crimes of cannabis users that we still today classify this relatively mild plant as a Schedule I drug.
The crime that surrounds cannabis exists solely because of its label as an illegal substance. Gangs, mafia and the clandestine operations that harbor guns and environmentally damaging fertilizers in our national forests operate because these organizations can obtain a lucrative street price for their crops. Allowing tax paying, law-abiding farms and retail outlets to sell cannabis will remove the violent element that surrounds illegal sale and production. Only when we have the outright legalization and regulation of cannabis can we remove the criminal element that creates these dangerous black markets.
I advocate the extension of currently in-place alcohol control laws to include the same process used in licensing retail locations for both the sale and on-site consumption. We should require the same rules for cannabis as we do for license applications to sell liquor.
Responsible stoners should be treated like responsible adults who enjoy an alcoholic beverage. If you drive while intoxicated on any substance, then you should be charged with a DUI, including prescribed medication.
Part of the conundrum of cannabis legalization is the ability to test for intoxication. Current urine, hair and blood tests for Tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC, simply test for the metabolite of the original substance. This results in a person returning a positive test for use even if the consumption was upward of 30 days ago.
Because of this lack in medical-science technology, law enforcement and employers discriminate inappropriately against those who choose to imbibe in a private and safe manner. Meanwhile, a methamphetamine addict can clean up for a few days and still test clean during an employment screening, leaving the employer with a much more dangerous and intoxicated worker then your average stoner.
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates that over 38 percent of the nation’s cannabis is produced in California. The ability for our state to create a taxable monster of an industry is standing before us. Much research remains to be done by micro and macro economists to determine how the creation of such an industry would affect all facets of social and private life. Despite this, the truth remains that the cannabis policy in America needs to be reformed.
Make it legal, and tax the hell out of it.