Legalize it, once and for all.

Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is one of the most widely used drugs in America. Its legalization movement has spread rapidly across America as people are starting to see the benefits of the plant. Not only are people seeing the pros of medical marijuana, but they are also beginning to separate fact from fiction when it comes to the drug.
First, let’s talk about its medical benefits. Marijuana has been proven to help all sorts of illnesses such as nausea, pain, epilepsy, glaucoma, and even cancer. Some studies even suggest that cannabis can shrink tumor size. According to the American Association for Cancer Research, tumor growth in lung cancer patients was cut in half thanks to the medical benefits of the active ingredient in marijuana referred to as “THC.” The drug has also been shown to improve the lives of many young children suffering from epileptic seizures.
Some might say, “Wait, doesn’t marijuana kill your brain cells?” The idea that marijuana kills brain cells is one of the
most common misconceptions about the drug. Let’s talk about where this myth comes from. Ronald Reagan famously said, “The most reliable scientific sources say permanent brain damage is one of the inevitable results of the use of marijuana.” So what reliable scientific sources was Reagan talking about? A study by Dr. Robert Heath was conducted in the 1970’s to discover whether or not marijuana caused brain damage in chimps. Dr. Heath exposed the monkeys to an equivalent of 30 joints per day for 90 straight days. When the monkeys were injected with the excessive amounts of marijuana, their faces were covered by masks. After the trial, Dr. Heath reported that the chimps had, indeed, suffered brain cell death. However, the scientific community rejected the validity of the study because the chimps had no access to oxygen when they were exposed to the marijuana – their loss of brain cells was due to their inability to breathe. Reagan, along with the government, treated this study as fact, even though many scientists challenged Dr. Heath’s findings.
Our government classifies marijuana as a Schedule One narcotic with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Drugs that are considered to be safer than cannabis include alcohol and tobacco. So let’s break down those legal drugs, and this supposed Schedule 1-worthy drug. 88,000 people die every year due to alcohol. 480,000 people die from tobacco every year as well. Marijuana hasn’t killed a single person in its entire history; however, our government classifies it as more dangerous than these drugs. What about pharmaceutical drugs? Well, let’s start off by saying that the largest interest group in our government is the pharmaceutical industry (Pharma). In 2012, the top 11 global drug companies made $85 billion in net profits. Pharma would hate to see marijuana legalized because that would spell bad news for all the prescription painkillers that they produce. However, according to the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 60 percent of all the drug overdose deaths in 2010 were attributed to prescription painkillers. Our government has many interest groups promoting alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals. These groups are among the biggest enemies of marijuana legalization because cannabis would act as a healthier and smarter alternative for the consumer in many cases.
Unfortunately, the way marijuana ends up “ruining lives” is simply due to its illegality. Minorities are affected by marijuana prohibition more than any other group. According to a New York Times article, blacks are four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites. The racial disparity when it comes to marijuana arrests is extremely worrisome because kids who are arrested for marijuana at an early age are affected for the rest of their lives. They struggle to find employment with an arrest record and are looked down upon as “stoners” and criminals. In a country where we incarcerate more people than any other nation in the world, we need to rethink our drug policy.
Marijuana, Cannabis, Pot, Weed, Dope, whatever you want to call it, is going to be legalized eventually. It’s one of those “right side of history” issues. Our generation is simply too rational to reject its medical and economic benefits. No one should be imprisoned for choosing a safer alternative to alcohol and no one should be looked down upon for smoking marijuana. Alcohol is glorified in our culture. We see commercials everyday about vodka, beer, wine, you name it. We’ve accepted as an integral part of our culture a drug that kills many and has been proven to cause many health problems. So why can’t we accept a simple plant like marijuana?
Gacita is a member of
the class of 2017.