In class on Thursday we discussed the effects of prohibition, how morality tied into the original decision to make alcohol illegal, and how the decision was reversed. I would now like to compare the theme of this situation with a current problem facing America, marijuana.
Now marijuana, whether you are partial or not partial toward the drug, is a drug and, while it has a small amount of salubrious effects, is, more or less, not healthy for an individual's over well being. Marijuana, as far as my understanding is concerned, has different punishments from state to state. For example in one state you may receive a misdemeanor and another it may carry a more heavy fine. (I think even in Denver having a small amount is legal?) Nonetheless, with this said, would it be morally correct to make the drug legal? My answer: no.
First, as mentioned earlier, marijuana is generally not good for an individuals health. That is, why legalize something that is not going to help individuals? (And yes, I realize there are many "legal" drugs which are just as bad or worse than marijuana; however, this still doesn't change the fact that marijuana isn't healthy for one.)
Second, I do not think marijuana should be legal as the effects on society are generally unknown. Sure, marijuana may "work" in other countries that have it legalized, but these countries are certainly different from the capitalistic superpower that is America. And again, even though marijuana may bring in tax dollars, is it really worth it to legalize a drug to a whole country when only a small minority (usually college age students) are really calling for it.
While I am against legalizing marijuana, I do think some kind of ubiquity needs to take place in enforcing marijuana laws, that is, there needs to be some kind of general consensus on what the punishments should be for marijuana, not disparate punishments from state to state.
My argument for keeping marijuana legal, besides the points already mentioned, boils down to this: Legalizing marijuana is simply immoral and the risks in such an action certainly outweigh an ancillary gains.
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I agree that maybe legalizing marijuana may not quite work the same way that it does in other countries. But you never know it may and it could also decrease the amount of people who are sent to prisons. It is known that a lot of prisoners are drugs users or sellers. This legalization would put a downward spiral to overcrowding in prisons. And I believe that more people than just a small minority which you state are "usually college age students" want it to be legalized. And also, I believe what makes this a major issue is that there are many pros and cons for this legalization. In order to come to a clear conclusion if legalizing marijuana would be beneficial, I think that more research should be made about this very controversial topic.
ReplyDeleteMarijuana is nowhere near as harmful as alcohol, which remains legal to this day. How many deaths is Marijuana responsible for? The health effects of Marijuana abuse compared to alcohol abuse are laughable. The government has its own reasons for not legalizing Marijuana and they are certainly not legal but lie in the area of taxation and the issues associated with it.
ReplyDeleteIt has been found marijuana has medicinal purposes too, so how would you feel about medical marijuana? Granted, it would be a small amount and usage would be limited by professionals, but it would still be legal, and obviously not as harmful as you claim it is.
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