TheLastManInAmerica

Somewhere between my early teens, up until a few years ago, smoking pot stopped being fun. Instead of laughing hysterically at the most inane things and raiding the fridge late at night, I began putting things off that I should’ve been doing and pondering things that I’d say and scrutinizing the minutest details of my social life. Other than those things affecting me, I can’t really see a down side to the legalization of marijuana, which, with the proposed bill from Rep. Barney Frank, that would put an end to federal penalties for citizens carrying less that a quarter pound, seems to be a near reality. With upsides including nearly limitless uses, cultivation of the crop could be a boon for the economy, while at the same time we’d see a cutting back on crime caused by trafficking and the subsequent funds landing in the hands of gang members and other figures involved in organized crime going away and downsides hardly that of minimal alcohol use, I find the stand against it to be weak.

100 grams is a lot of pot. I’ve known quite a few dealers in my life and if you can imagine four plastic sandwich bags stuffed full of weed that’s just a little more than 100 grams. That is how much this new bill, if passed, would allow you to carry without repercussions. I don’t agree with this. Anyone carrying nearly four ounces of weed is a dealer, it’s not like someone carries that much weed on them just in case. Hell, one ounce is enough to assume intent to sell and they’re talking about four?! As long as it is illegal, I can’t abide someone carrying that much weed.

But why not legalize it? Unlike alcohol, which, for all intents and purposes is worse for you, it has so many positive things that accompany its production. An industry built around the cultivation of marijuana and its cousin, hemp, would flourish, creating thousands of jobs, on the farms and in the factories. Marijuana is known to be used in to help cancer and AIDS patients in their struggles with their respective diseases, including nausea and clinical depression and some studies go so far as to say that CBDs found in marijuana can inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Could you imagine what could be done with thousands of acres of fields growing the plant and funding from the government for research. Who knows what other medicinal benefits could be discovered?

Hemp, marijuana’s less distinguished cousin that is often confused for the psychoactive drug, is less fun yet more practical. The fibers of this plant can be used to make clothes and rope. As far back as Colonial America, hemp was being grown by the likes of George Washington and used to make paper by Ben Franklin. Even the Declaration of Independence was written on paper made from hemp! It is becoming popular in the world of health food and its oil can be found in milk and ice cream. And with regard for the environment on the rise like never before, Hemp Plastic, a biodegradable fiber-reinforced composite is being produced in hopes of cutting back on waste generated from the over 200 billion ponds of plastics produced every year.

And what of commercial production? Do we really want to see a bunch of giggling stoners wondering around, eating gravy fries everywhere we go? This is one thing that divided me on the subject, but to present a tired cliché, is it much different than alcohol? Yeah, it impairs your cognitive capabilities and slows reaction rime but think about alcohol and what that does. Booze can put you on your ass like any hard drug, rendering you unable to walk or talk or recall anything that happened during a binge. Too much consumption of alcohol can put you in a coma or even kill you! On the same token, too much weed will put you to sleep; I’ve never heard of anyone overdosing on pot. Then there are the social effects. Drinking is notorious for turning people into superhuman assholes, searching for trouble and lashing out at the slightest provocation. It also goes hand in hand with stupid decisions, such as one night stands and unprotected sex with virtually anonymous partners. Weed, on the other hand relaxes people, and while they’ll still do stupid thing while high, they have more control over themselves than if they were drunk and they can still handle thinking rationally.

It would be easy enough to regulate if it were handled the same as alcohol. For instance, just like alcohol, pot could be relegated to bars with the owner or bartender having discretion on who has had enough. It could be sold in stores, naturally, with the same age restrictions as alcohol. It would fall under Driving While Intoxicated, if caught operating a vehicle under the influence, much like it is now. The only touchy thing would be public consumption, since it would be difficult to distinguish who is smoking a cigarette or a joint, but with uber-liberals working hard to rid the world of tobacco, that problem will soon be taken care of.   

There are millions and millions of dollars that go into the trafficking of marijuana every year, all of which ends up in the hands of criminals. Why not take this money and give it to farmers and thousands of other workers to better our country’s situation? With the economy in the tanks right now, it could prove to be a great pick-me-up for the nation. And with many contending that drug money goes to support terrorism, wouldn’t we want to keep money out of their hands as well? When rationally thought out, there is really nothing that would outweigh the benefits of producing this infamous crop; and most of the hindrances are nothing that doesn’t apply to other substances that are currently legal. There are plenty of other drugs which cause real harm and are a real drag (heh, heh) to society. The time has passed when it was considered the “Assassin of Youth.” Today crack and meth are the real substances that need to be snuffed out, forget worrying about arresting some dude smoking a blunt at the bus stop, it’s the guy selling rocks in the alley that needs to be taken care of. Hell, the taxes brought in from the sell of legalized and regulated marijuana could even go towards combating these blights of American Society. Now wouldn’t that be poetic? The money brought in from the sell of one drug going towards the fight against another, I think Regan would be proud.                     

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