My name is Seth Nason and marijuana is a part of my life. No matter what the reason, whether you think that it is because my friends smoke or even myself, I support marijuana. Anyone who has ever smoked weed or been with someone who has smoked weed will tell you that the major effect of marijuana is a relaxed and open feeling. People do not get angry, no one becomes violent, and no one has ever died from marijuana. Ever.
In the same breath is the absurd legality of alcohol. While alcohol can induce a similar “happy feeling,” it is highly addictive, can make people violent, and the Center of Disease Control and Prevention states every year approximately 75,000 deaths are attributed to alcohol poisoning. How is that such a dangerous drug be legal when marijuana is not? The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s “actual causes of death in the US” does not even include marijuana as a cause of death. Why? It’s because no one dies from marijuana.
Here is a serious question: If I, at 21 years old, can drive a car (a multi-ton veritable weapon that pollutes the environment), fly to a foreign country and kill people there, and legally partake of a drug that is known to kill me and always makes me feel like death the day after I use it, why can’t I smoke marijuana?
Interesting fact: In the 1600’s, individual colonies made growing marijuana compulsory, meaning farmers had to grow it or they could be arrested. This was done for the plant’s tensile strength and ability to make strong ropes. Why did the government turn around? The psychedelic movement in the 1960’s and their usage of marijuana. This movement was very against the Vietnam War, an intense money maker for big business in this country. What happens when big business gets bigger? The economy is boosted and all the rich people, including politicians, accrue more wealth.
Let’s take a look at a man named Harry J. Anslinger. He was the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. He is directly quoted in “Why is Marijuana Legal,” an essay by Pete Guither, as saying, “There are 100,000 marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their satanic music, jazz and swing result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negros, entertainers and any others…The primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races…Marijuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing…You smoke a joint and you are likely to kill your brother…reefer makes darkies think they are as good as white men.”
Guther’s essay also mentions Anslinger’s partner in his war against marijuana, William Randolf Hearst, an “owner of a huge chain of newspapers. Hearst had lots of reasons to help. First, he hated Mexicans. Second, he had invested heavily in the timber industry to support his newspaper chain and didn’t want to see the development of hemp paper in competition.”The criminalization of marijuana was based on fear. The government took advantage of ignorance in America and the fear of black people becoming equal to white people that stems from that ignorance. The reason that marijuana continues to remain illegal is money and power. If marijuana is made legal, people will eventually realize how much less dangerous marijuana is compared to alcohol, causing people to stop drinking and start smoking. Look at the campaign finance reports of most politicians; alcohol companies are always there. If marijuana is made legal, people will smoke it even more and realize that the government has been lying to them about its “dangerous” effects. Nothing makes people more pissed than when they are lied to.
I wonder what would happen to the judicial system in America if all the marijuana related criminals were released and no one was ever arrested for it again. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the Executive Office of the President, in 2004 there were 1,745,712 state and local arrests for drug abuse violations in the United States. Of the drug arrests, five percent were for marijuana sale/manufacturing and 39.2% were for marijuana possession. If you do the math, that is a staggering 776,842 marijuana related arrests. Think about the tax dollars that went into prosecuting these “criminals.” Think about the unnecessary jail time that was served. Now tell me what was gained from this. Laws will never make people stop smoking marijuana; all they do is induce fear, paranoia, and unnecessary tax spending.
Frankly, I think that in a time where so many of our natural freedoms as citizens, like burning flags, speaking out against the government and our basic right to privacy, are challenged, it is time to take a stand and stop letting things go hoping that they will get better someday. The time to speak out vocally is now, before we have no chance.
Peace and Love,Seth Nason