Marijuna Legalization

The Modern Day Prohibition: Marijuana

Marijuana legalization is a paradoxical argument. At first glance, it would appear that anyone who is for legalization of marijuana must not have their facts straight, after all marijuana is an illegal drug that contributes to numerous societal problems in the United States such as gangs, overpopulation of the prison system, and a strain on the American economy fighting the War on Drugs. A majority of the American public has been lead to believe that marijuana is a major cause of its problems. However what if I was to say that marijuana was not a source of all these problems in America but actually a way to cure all of these problems? My goal and hope is to inform you of how the legalization of marijuana could lead to a richer, more equal and more fair American society.

One of the keys to understanding the rationale for marijuana legalization is to actually go back to the Prohibition Era of the United States during which alcohol was made illegal. This occurred from 1920 to 1933. At first it may seem strange to argue a modern day topic by going back in the past to support your argument but there are an alarming number of similarities between the modern day prohibition of drugs to the 1920s prohibition of alcohol. In 1919 lawmakers were certain that the cause of most

crime was alcohol. They believed that since alcohol contributes to these crimes that by outlawing the alcohol these crimes would desist. However the exact opposite occurred and rates of crimes actually rose. This was due to one simple fact; peoples thirst for alcohol didn’t diminish just because it was made illegal. If someone wanted alcohol they were still going to get it, even if it was illegal. This need and want for alcohol helped to give rise to organized crime which in turn gave rise to more crime happening. Before the 1920s organized crime was limited to simple gambling and thieving to obtain a profit. Suddenly the bootlegging of illegal alcohol opened up a whole new way for them to make money. Prohibition also lead to gangs fighting for control of the alcohol which lead to other more serious crimes such as assaults, robberies, and murders. One of the most serious offenses Prohibition lead to was the corruption of law enforcement. Organized crime members would bribe police officers to “look the other way” when they saw something illegal happen. Eventually lawmakers saw the error of their ways and repealed the 18^th amendment.

The numerous similarities are startling between the Prohibition of Alcohol and the modern day War on Drugs. The first major similarity has to deal with the public’s desire for drugs. Now not every American smokes marijuana. But those who do know that marijuana is indeed illegal. This simple fact has not stopped their desire to smoke it; much like Americans desire to drink alcohol was not stopped during Prohibition. So these individuals are forced to get marijuana from drug dealers which in turn help to fund organized crime and gangs. The other major similarity deals with this very fact that people must buy drugs from dealers and gangs much the same way people had to buy alcohol from organized crime members. In fact drugs are one of the main sources of income for organized crime and petty street gangs (Frontline). If marijuana specially were made legal, this would take a large percentage of income away from organized crime and thus greatly diminish the impact that they have on American society because now Americans would no longer have to go to drug dealers or organized crime members to get marijuana. All they would have to do now would be to go to a liquor store, or any store that would have a license allowing them to sell marijuana, and buy it there. The legal sale of marijuana would theoretically be done much the same way that the current sale of alcohol and tobacco is done, with stores having to qualify for a license to sell. Thus with less income organized crime would become a smaller threat and thus more likely to be apprehended and sent to prison. This brings me to my next reason for the legalization of marijuana: overpopulation in prison due to marijuana offenses.

In 2007 there were 1.2 million people in all state prisons. Of these around 250,000 were for drug offenses. That equals out to about 20% of the state prisoner population. Federal prisons hold even more than that. In 2007 there were about 180,000 prisoners in federal prisons. Of these 95,000 were incarcerated for drug offenses. That’s more than 50% of the population (Drug War Facts)! With overpopulation in prison being a major concern right now in the United States, the government must make steps to help control it. Just to prove how bad overpopulation in prison is I’ll provide this fact. America makes up 5% of the world’s population yet its prison population makes up 25% of the worlds prison population (Klein 1). Many state prisons are operating at near maximum capacity or well past it (Frontline). Prison overcrowding leads to numerous

consequences such as, rapid spread of diseases, more severe violence, and more sexual assaults. One tremendously easy way to overcome prison overcrowding would be to legalize marijuana and other drugs. Federal prisons would have 50% less inmates immediately and state prisons would have about 20% less inmates (War on Drugs). That would greatly help to free up space in prisons. Not only would this free up space in prisons but it would also help free up tax payers’ money. This leads me to my third reason for the legalization of marijuana and drugs- helping the American economy.

There are two main ways that the legalization of marijuana could help the American economy. The first way is through taxation. The US government makes around $8 billion a year through the taxation of tobacco. It would make sense to assume that since marijuana and tobacco are closely similar that the US government could make around or above $8 billion a year through the taxation of marijuana (Klein). Given that America is currently around $11 trillion dollars in total debt every little bit helps. The second way that marijuana legalization could help save billions of tax payers’ money is through the amount of money the US government wouldn’t have to spend to fight its War on Drugs. Each year according to USDP, the US government spends $67 billion a year fighting the War on Drugs. This statistic is just the amount that law enforcement spends fighting the War on Drugs. Yet the amount of drug use in America is not decreasing. Thus the War on Drugs should be viewed as a waste of taxpayer’s money. So why not legalize drugs and quit wasting this money that could be spent instead helping America recover from the current economic recession. Another aspect of this argument would be the amount of money saved by releasing people currently in prison and jail for drug

offenses. According to the American Corrections Association, it cost taxpayers each day about $67 to house a state inmate. This equates to about $17 million a day or $6.2 billion each year that states pay to house drug offenders (Drug War Facts). This is yet another area where the government could be redirecting its money from to help out the current American economy. All together that is a substantial amount of money that could better off spent helping America rather than fighting a War on Drugs that has no end in sight. With regards to the government, the legalization of marijuana is only a small part of a much bigger dilemma: Whether the government has the right to govern victimless crimes?

Pure and simple, a victimless crime is a crime that has no foreseeable victim. Marijuana and drug use fall into this category. Gambling and prostitution also fall into this category. Everyone agrees that murder, robbery, and rape are crimes. These crimes are universally accepted as crimes by almost everyone in society. For example, you’re never are going to see an organization for the abolition of murder as a crime. Thus we have laws to hopefully prevent these crimes from occurring. Drug use, gambling, and prostitution however are not universally perceived as crime. This is why some people believe that the government has no right enforcing laws against these sorts of crimes. Proponents of the abolition of victimless crime laws believe in the inherent freedom that all individuals have. To put another way, this means that they believe that all individuals should be able to do anything they want as long as it doesn’t affect anyone else or the state. On the other hand proponents for victimless laws believe that they protect the

individual from the harm that could happen and that these laws are for “the good of society.” This means you are more likely to be harmed or injured while committing

victimless crimes than when your not. An example would be DUI or driving while high. So does the government have the right to govern victimless crimes? I for one say they don’t. I believe that just because a potential for harm is there that it doesn’t give the government the right to police this action. I personally believe that every individual should be allowed to do whatever they want as long as it doesn’t harm others, property, or the state. Marijuana falls directly into my argument. Marijuana is a victimless crime, thus I believe the government has no right in governing its use. If the government was indeed protecting the “good of society” then why are there two other tremendously dangerous and legal products available to said society to use for personal use?

The two drugs I am taking about are tobacco and alcohol. Tobacco kills around 430,000 people every year while alcohol kills around 85,000 people every year in the USA. This figure does not even count the deaths from alcohol related vehicle crashes. Yet marijuana kills 0 people every year. One has to wonder why marijuana is illegal in the United States. I am certain one day that marijuana and drug laws will change in this country.

My argument wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t address the other side of the debate. The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign is one of the major supporters of current drug laws. They believe that the health risks from marijuana use are too high to allow its legalization. My counterpoint to this is that even though marijuana does in fact have some minor health consequences, those consequences shouldn’t matter in the

long run. Everything in life has some risks. It’s not the government’s job to dictate whether those risks are appropriate for us or not. It is our own responsibility. Another

opposing viewpoint against drug legalization comes from the US DEA. The main argument from the DEA against drug legalization is all legalization will due is cause more drug abuse problems. They believe that since a drug will be more easily accessible that this will in turn lead to more drug abuse. My answer to that is a simple response. If someone wants to use a drug they are going to get the drug whether it is illegal or not. Legalization, in my opinion, will not cause drug abuse rates to go up.

The issue of marijuana and drug legalization is not only a socially complex one but also a morally complex one. Marijuana and drug legalization however are part of a broader issue facing America today that also deals with controversial topics such as abortion, gay marriage, death penalty, etc. The issue is whether Americans truly want to venture out of their comfort zone and think about the idea of something different. My goal was not to change your mind about drug legalization but to allow you to see things from a different side and to hopefully give you some perspective on this issue.

Works Cited

“Busted: America’s War on Marijuana.” Frontline. PBS. 1998.

Klein, Joe . "Why Legalizing Marijuana Makes Sense." Time 16 Apr. 2009. 25 July 2009 .

"Marijuna Facts." Above the Influence. 2009. National Youth Anti Drug Media Campagin. 29 July 2009 .

"Prisons and Drug Offenders." Drug War Facts. 2008. Common Sense for Drug Policy. 25 July 2009 .