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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
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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.