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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 2002)
c3 December 4, 2002 The Clackamas Print ★ THE CLACKAMAS PRINT* Editor-in-Chief Daisy Bain Copy Editor Frank Jordan Opinion/Design Editor Erinn Lerten Should marijuana be legal? Legalizing marijuana would help solve social and political issues Physical and moral effects of marijuana outweigh benefits The question of whether marijuana should be legalized is a controversial issue that has been hotly debated for the past 30 years. Although there is evidence to sup port both sides of this argument, removing legal penalties from the production, sale and use of marijuana would eliminate many of our biggest social and political problems. Over the years, many myths have cir culated regarding the dangers of marijua na. One of the more persistent myths is that marijuana is a “gateway” drug that leads to the use of harder drugs such as heroin and cocaine. What scicncc and actual experience tell us is that marijua na tends to substitute for drugs like cocaine and heroin. Since the Dutch par tially legalized, marijuana in the 1970’s, the use of heroin and cocaine has declined substantially. In general, drug abuse is perceived to be less of a prob lem there than it is in the United States. Another common misconception about marijuana is that it is more danger ous than tobacco. Yes, it is true that marijuana and tobacco contain relatively si malar amounts of carcinogens and smoking an equal proportion of marijuana to tobacco will create more tar build-up. However, a heavy tobacco smoker con sumes much more tobacco than the amount of marijuana a heavy marijuana smoker consumes. This can be attributed to the feet that tobacco has a 90 per cent addiction rate, whereas marijuana is less addictive than caffeine. , It is also interesting to point out that there has never been a reported inci dence of a marijuana overdose that resulted in death. In fact, scientists estimate that you would have to consume 40,000 times the marijuana required to get stoned in order for it to be lethal. This strongly contrasts with alcohol, which requires only four to ten times the usual amount to have a lethal, effect. -c? In recent years, some states, including .Oregon, have allowed for marijuana to be used for medical purposes. Patients suffering from diseases such as can cer, AIDS, glaucoma, and chronic multiple sclerosis have used marijuana to help alleviate pain, anxiety and nauseq. Decriminalizing marijuana would be advantageous because the government could regulate its production. The government would receive valuable jevenue from taxing the product. In addition, the government would not have to fund a considerable, portion of the multi-billion dollar war against drugs. These savings could be redirected toward solving more critical social problems such as vio lence, poverty and under-funded public education. \ Legalization would unclog the court system considerably Since fewer peo ple would need trials, justice would flow much faster and more important cases would receive proper attention,-allowingthejudges and the juries to make more considered opinions. The elimination of countless trials would help solve,the problem' of prison overcrowding and enable the police to focus their efforts on more serious crimes such as murder and rape. Marijuana does not serve only smoking purposes. It is also an excellent source of nutrition. It has the highest oil-content in the world (34 percent), oil that is of very high quality.-After the oil has been extracted, the remaining “seed cake” is second only to soybean in protein content. Hemp can also be made into clothing and paper, yielding almost four times the paper pulp of trees. It is iron ic that marijuana is illegal-in the United States when the Constitution itself was written on paper made from hemp. I am not suggesting that marijuana is good for you. Nor am I advocating unregulated use of it. However, after carefully weighing the current health, eco nomic and crime-related costs to enforce the laws against marijuana, it is my contention that marijuana use should be decriminalized. Cannabis sativa (also known as marijuana, pot, Mary Jane, grass and weed), is a wonder drug, or is it? Many marijuana users claim to have found tranquility through this drug and now they are pushing to legalize it more than ever, even though it might not have any practical purpos es. But do they really care what it Contributing Writer does to your body and mind? Billionaires Peter Lewis, John Sperling and George Soros, who are spearheading and funding the pro-pot movement, have all used marijua na and want to see the drug legalized. Lewis, who smokes pot just for the fun of it, spends half his time Out in his 255-foot yacht. Soros wants to make heroin and other prohibited drugs into legal prescriptions for drug addicts, while discouraging those who are non-addicts. Sperling has invested millions into unusual pet projects, such as cloning his cat. If these philanthropists really cared about helping people, they would be spending their money on finding cures for cancer and AIDS. v- ..% Even though the longterm effects of marijuana have yet to be deter mined, what we do know leaves its medicinal value in question. Marijuana contains 50 percent more tar than tobacco, which makes the drug more irritating and has greater negative effects on the upper airways than smoking tobacco. It may cause lung, neck and head cancers along with emphysema and restrictive airway disease. Pot also increases the workload of a heart; by increasing the heart rate and blood pressure, it creates a situation usually found in people under high stress. Also, tak ing marijuana reduces the number and quality of sperm while damaging their mobility, causing impotence in men. In women, marijuana can dam age egg cells, which affects fertility» Not to mention' the ten cases found in France (which was published in the journal Angiology) where heavy pot smokers got ischemia (insufficient blood supply) in their limbs and in four cases, led to amputations. The Journal of the American Medical Association published a study on 101 near-daily marijuana users who wanted to quit for various rea sons. They found out that the more they smoked, the more faulty their memory and attention spans got. Those that smoked pot regularly for an average of ten years did significantly worse on two of the 40 indices of cognitive functioning. But those who smoked it for an average of 24 years did even worse on the tests than the ten-year smokers. Marijuana causes the brain to hot interpret brain signals correctly; thereby slowing down the thinking process. Taking the drug leads to difficulty in con centration, attention to detail, reaction time, judgment, memory and learning new or complex information. But the effects of long-term mar ijuana use on the intellect have hot been declared, nor has there beep any documented proof that it causes brain damage. Most important are the moral implications of being in an artificially- induced state of mind, outside of reality, which will result in decisions that could later be regrettable. Much like alcohol, it creates an out-of- body experience, resulting in personality, changes that increase .the chances of losing control- and harming those around you physically and/or mentally. As a Christian, I believe that we have been granted this incredible bio machine, for the purpose of making logical and rational decisions to acknowledge there is a Creator. But if marijuana gets legalized then maybe we will see a lot more people trying to clone their cats. Mark Falling Michael Choe ext. 2578 Staff Writers: Webmaster: Secretary: Robb Egan Megan Cobb. Isaiah Creel Pete Ford Jason Bonadurer Joel Gaynor JoAnne Gale Adviser: Linda Vogt Goals: The Clackamas Print aims to report the news in an honest, unbiased, profession- ,al manner. The opinions expressed in The Clackamas Print do not necessarily reflect those of the student body, college administration, its faculty, or The Clackamas Print. Products and services advertised in The Clackamas Print are not necessarily endorsed by anyone associated with The Clackamas Print. The Clackamas Print is a weekly publi cation and is distributed every Wednesday except during Finals Week. The Clackamas Print Copyright 2002. Advertising: The advertising rate is $4.75 per col umn inch 19600 S. Molalla Ave. Oregon City, Oregon 97045 (503) 657-6958 X2309 cccprint@clackamas.cc.or.us ht1p://depts.clackamcis.cc.or.us/p<int Do you think marijuana should be legalized? Kyle Sahli "Yes, I do because we have enough problems in this state funding schools. If we tax mari juana we can spend the money on schools." "Yeah, because it puts too many people in prison for distribution who aren't violent crim inals but they come out of prison more violent." John Conley David Storkel "Actually I think it should. There's a lot of innocent people unjust- tly put into the system because of it. It can be abused though, it's a fine line." "Yes, I do. When peo ple drink a lot they become hostile and vio lent, pot doesn't have the same effect. Pot isn't as bad as drinking and that is legal." Bonnie Graziano ISAIAH CREEL Clackamas Print We were unable to find anyone who believed that marijuana should not be legalized. However if you disagree, letters to the editor are always encouraged.
