Legalization Of Marijuana (Against)

Roger Beaman

April 10, 2008

Legalization of Marijuana

The legalization of marijuana has been a controversial issue ever since it was made an illegal substance in 1937 with the passage of the Marijuana Tax Act. Currently the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) lists marijuana as a schedule I substance, meaning that it has a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use in the US[2]. Many groups have formed attempting to change marijuana legislation. The most well known is the organization NORML (The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws). They make many claims including that it is a harmless drug, that it has medicinal advantages, and that the reasons it was made illegal in the first place were illegitimate. They have been somewhat successful in their efforts and have succeeded in having marijuana “decriminalized” in twelve states. This means that as opposed to facing jail time for possession, users who are caught have to pay a small fine. I chose this topic because I have had many difficulties with drugs including this one and now I have overcome them I cannot support the legalization of something that caused so much damage to my life. Marijuana is a gateway drug to other substances, and it alone is harmful to the point that there is no justification for making it legal.

The scientific name for marijuana is cannabis sativa L. It is a mind-altering drug which produces euphoria, a stimulated appetite, and mild hallucinations for one to three hours after it is taken. The active chemical in marijuana is THC (Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol) and it is found mostly in the flowers produced by the marijuana plant. Marijuana can be cooked into foods and can be distilled into a drink, however the most common way by far to get “high” off of marijuana is to smoke it, and in this essay I will assume users are using this method.

The use of marijuana goes back into prehistory and has had various religious or cultural uses over time. The use of the drug was slightly frowned upon by some over time but there was no serious attention brought to it until the early 1900s. Henry J. Anslinger is credited as being most responsible for getting marijuana illegalized. He was appointed the head of the United States’ newly-formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics in 1930. From that point on he began a campaign against marijuana which, in 1937, succeeded in passing legislation to make marijuana illegal. When arguing for marijuana legalization today people often point to this man’s campaign and say the drug should be legalized today because based on his arguments “it should never have been made illegal in the first place”.

On this point, to some degree, I must yield. Anslinger did use racism and exaggerated “facts” in his campaign which took advantage of people’s ignorance of the drug. His slogans included that "Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men" and "You smoke a joint and you're likely to kill your brother".[1]. However, the marijuana back then was not the same marijuana found on the streets today. In 1935 the average level of THC in marijuana was under one percent, whereas today the average sample tests at about 10 percent THC content[3]. With such a significant difference it is hard to even compare the effects of marijuana back then to the ones today.

Despite his largely erroneous campaign, Anslinger did produce one very valid argument which is still used today, “The Gateway Theory”. The gateway theory holds that use of marijuana is likely to lead to use of other, harder, illegal drugs, such as LSD, PCP, cocaine, heroin, and crystal methamphetamine[1]. While supporters of marijuana legalization will say that marijuana is harmless, none of these supporters will try to argue that these drugs are not. What they will try to argue is that this gateway theory is not true. Common sense can see that this is ludicrous if you think of the scenario of a clean and sober individual picking up a crack pipe or a heroin needle overnight. In a New Zealand study it was shown marijuana users were 100 times more likely to use other more illicit drugs such as cocaine and heroin than non-users[4]. Statistics are not needed to demonstrate that using marijuana will put you in situations where you are around harder substances. No one will deny that opportunity makes the use of a harder substance much more likely. People are more likely to try a harder substance when it happens to be around them than they are to seek it out on their own. Another aspect is the fear of drugs, which initially one would have for marijuana itself. Once crossing the threshold into regular marijuana use, however, the fear of marijuana has obviously been eliminated and the fear of other drugs has undoubtedly decreased.

Regardless of the evidence of marijuana use leading to the use of other drugs, there is the fact that marijuana use often leads to more marijuana use, which leads to one big scary word: Addiction. As defined in Merriam-Webster dictionary it is compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful. Well, marijuana is definitely a habit for many users, there is a tolerance increase with regular use, and though there are no physical withdrawals, the psychological withdrawals can be quite severe. “Controlled studies of marijuana smokers during inpatient treatment suggest that marijuana dependence, like dependence on other addictive drugs, is associated with withdrawal symptoms -- such as irritability, anger, depressed mood, headaches, restlessness, lack of appetite, and craving -- that can make it difficult to stop using the drug”.[5] Though many users I have encountered think that marijuana is not addictive, only a few pro-legalization sites made this claim.

NORML indirectly has some advice on the subject of addiction in their 4th principle for responsible cannabis use. “Use of cannabis, to the extent that it impairs health, personal development or achievement, is abuse, to be resisted by responsible cannabis users.” Well that sounds pretty simple; their advice is just… to not get addicted. So the founders of NORML believe that you should monitor your marijuana use and keep it at a certain level, which if you are in fact addicted would be impossible. They do not provide any parameters regarding amounts of using which would classify you as an “abuser”