What justice is there in making marijuana illegal?

Washington, DC: Police arrested 847,864 persons for marijuana violations in 2008.Marijuana arrests now comprised one-half (49.8 percent) of all drug arrests reported in the United States.


Of those charged with marijuana violations, approximately 89 percent, 754,224 Americans were charged with possession only.The remaining 93,640 individuals were charged with “sale/manufacture,” a category that includes all cultivation offenses, even those where the marijuana was being grown for personal or medical use.





Commenting on the 2008 figures, NORML Director Allen St. Pierre said: “Federal statistics released just last week indicate that larger percentages of Americans are using cannabis at the same time that police are arresting a near-record number of Americans for pot-related offenses. Present enforcement policies are costing American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, ruining the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans, and having no impact on marijuana availability or marijuana use in this country. It is time to end this failed policy and replace prohibition with a policy of marijuana regulation, taxation, and education.”





NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano added, “According to a just-released Rasmussen poll, a majority of American adults believe, correctly, that marijuana is less harmful than booze. The public has it right; the law has it wrong.”








Myth:


Marijuana Can Cause Permanent Mental Illness.





*Fact:


There is no convincing scientific evidence that marijuana causes psychological damage or mental illness in either teenagers or adults. Some marijuana users experience psychological distress following marijuana ingestion, which may include feelings of panic, anxiety, and paranoia. Such experiences can be frightening, but the effects are temporary. With very large doses, marijuana can cause temporary toxic psychosis. This occurs rarely, and almost always when marijuana is eaten rather than smoked. Marijuana does not cause profound changes in people's behavior.








Myth:


Marijuana is Highly Addictive.





*Fact:


Most people who smoke marijuana smoke it only occasionally. A small minority of Americans - less than 1 percent - smoke marijuana on a daily basis. An even smaller minority develop a dependence on marijuana. Some people who smoke marijuana heavily and frequently stop without difficulty.








Myth:


Marijuana is More Damaging to the Lungs Than Tobacco.





*Fact:


Moderate smoking of marijuana appears to pose minimal danger to the lungs. Like tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke contains a number of irritants and carcinogens. But marijuana users typically smoke much less often than tobacco smokers, and over time, inhale much less smoke. As a result, the risk of serious lung damage should be lower in marijuana smokers. There have been no reports of lung cancer related solely to marijuana.





Myth:


Marijuana Has No Medicinal Value.





*Fact: Marijuana has been shown to be effective in reducing the nausea induced by cancer chemotherapy, stimulating appetite in AIDS patients, and reducing intraocular pressure in people with glaucoma. There is also appreciable evidence that marijuana reduces muscle spasticity in patients with neurological disorders.





Myth:


Marijuana is a Gateway Drug.





*Fact:


Marijuana does not cause people to use hard drugs. What the gateway theory presents as a causal explanation is a statistic association between common and uncommon drugs, an association that changes over time as different drugs increase and decrease in prevalence. Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the United States today. Therefore, people who have used less popular drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD, are likely to have also used marijuana. Most marijuana users never use any other illegal drug. Indeed, for the large majority of people, marijuana is a terminus rather than a gateway drug.





Myth:


Marijuana Kills Brain Cells.





*Fact:


None of the medical tests currently used to detect brain damage in humans have found harm from marijuana, even from long term high-dose use. An early study reported brain damage in rhesus monkeys after six months exposure to high concentrations of marijuana smoke. In a recent, more carefully conducted study, researchers found no evidence of brain abnormality in monkeys that were forced to inhale the equivalent of four to five marijuana cigarettes every day for a year. The claim that marijuana kills brain cells is based on a speculative report dating back a quarter of a century that has never been supported by any scientific study.





Myth:


Marijuana Use During Pregnancy Damages the Fetus.





*Fact:


Studies of newborns, infants, and children show no consistent physical, developmental, or cognitive deficits related to prenatal marijuana exposure. Marijuana had no reliable impact on birth size, length of gestation, neurological development, or the occurrence of physical abnormalities.





Now tell me what justice is in making marijuana illegal.|||I don't understand why it's illegal either. It's no more harmful than any legal drugs out there. But the fact of the matter is, marijuana is going to stay illegal unless enough people are willing to make a stand to change it. In general, people are unwilling to do this, because if they stand up for legalization, they are viewed by the rest of society as being a "pot head" or "druggie", regardless of whether or not this is actually the case.|||Justice has nothing to do with law. They're completely separate concepts - one relates to ethics and one relates to the State.





Understand that you are the property of the State and a slave to its will. Whatever laws it decides to arbitrarily make bind you regardless of whether they are "right" or "wrong".|||Thank you for posting an intelligent argument for the legalization/decriminalization of marijuana.





I agree completely. The War has failed, time to try something else.|||I basically agree I don't smoke nor would I if legal.





I don't think people should be allowed to smoke in public areas where the second smoke can affect others. Nor should kids be allowed to smoke ( just like alcohol and tobacco ) It should be taxed and require warning labels. Driving while stoned should be same as dui. Employers


should be able to insist that no one is high at work same with being drunk


or watching porn|||I disagree with some of your so called facts. Just as I disagree with most of the myths. However, that is another discussion. The reason marijuana is still illegal is simple. The Government makes a lot more money keeping it that way then they would by legalizing it. You know the old saying about history, and those who don't learn from it being damned to repeat it? Well, this is a great example of not learning from history. The United States tried to prohibit alcohol way back in the early part of this past century. This proved beyond all doubt in my mind anyway, that you can not legislate morality. Yet, Congress keeps trying.|||I wouldn't call it justice but if marijuana was legalized it would be better for all concerned. I've read that California spends 171 million dollars per year trying to eradicate marijuana usage. 54 million dollars of that money goes towards incarceration of basically non violent pot smokers. Another 71 million dollars is spent on court costs.





Despite the law and all the money spent on law enforcement weed is still relatively cheap and easy to find. Worse yet we have Mexican drug cartels and other violent criminal organizations getting rich from the profits the take in from the cultivation and distribution of illegal cannabis.





Remember in California alone it's estimated that the underground marijuana industry amounts to something like 14 billion dollars per year. We have a situation quite similar to what was happening during prohibition back in the 1920's.





Fact: According to NORML 56% of Californians think marijuana should be legalized then taxed and regulated just like alcohol. 51% of Californians believe alcohol is not only harder not only on ones body but causes more damage to society.





Granted marijuana is a mind altering substance with a distinct potential for abuse but then again so is alcohol so it's not for everybody. Still I can't recall the last time anyone has ever died from a marijuana overdose or for that matter marijuana withdrawals because unlike alcohol marijuana isn't physically addictive.





I also can't seem to recall any event I ever been to that was ruined because somebody got too stoned...I do however remember plenty of times when some fools got too drunk and rowdy which resulted in the police showing up shutting the event down.





I never knew a pothead that made a routine practice of beating up his wife or girlfriend every time he got stoned...but I've ran across plenty of drunks who do it all the time. Alcoholism and domestic violence go hand in hand.





By the way California is on the verge of legalizing marijuana for recreational use. If AB 390 passes it will legalize then tax and regulate marijuana just like alcoholic beverages. It's expected that a legal marijuana industry in California will generate something like 1.2 billion dollars per year in tax revenues alone.