Marijuana Decriminilization
...cohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 110,640 died in 1996 from alcohol poisoning 2. 430,700 people died on average between 1990 and 1994 from tobacco according to the US Centers for Disease Control. 3. There is no reliable source that claims of a single death caused by marijuana use alone. 4. In 1999 the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine stated: "Except for the harms associated with smoking, the adverse effects of marijuana use are within the range tolerated for other medications." C. America is a free country and what its’ citizens do in their time is not the governments business. 1. As long as others rights are not infringed, Americans have the right to pursue happiness. 2. Prohibition of any thing that cannot cause harm to anyone but the willing user is wrong, especially when the harm is minimum. D. The effects of marijuana are not as extreme as once thought. 1. FamilyDoctor.org claims the side effects of marijuana include: trouble remembering things, sleepiness, anxiety, paranoia, and an altered sense of time. 2. It also claims the physical effects to contain tremors, nausea, headache, coordination becoming worse, breathing problems, increased appetite, reduced blood flow to the brain, and changes in the reproductive organs. 3. Although these facts came from an anti-marijuana organization, none of the effects listed are life endangering threats, with the exception of the possible changes in the reproductive organs, a fact that is still in dispute 4. Certainly nothing worse than smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol can cause II. Marijuana users are not bad people simply because they use it. A. According to the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 83 million Americans over the age of 12 have tried marijuana at least once. 1. If this many people have admittedly tried it, can it be that bad? 2. It would be hard to call all these people bad citizens, and if you were you would be claiming this of 37% of Americans. B. In 2002, 3.1 million Americans over the age of 12 used marijuana almost every day of the year. 1. Despite the increasing legal risk of using, this number has remained steady since the early 90‘s. 2. The majority of these people have normal lives. a. They have jobs b. Families c. And go to school. 3. They pose no risk to anyone but themselves, which is hard to say exactly how much they are risking. C. Marijuana can and is used responsibly in most cases. 1. Marijuana is for adults only. 2. There are many activities in our society that are okay for adults but not children including, driving, drinking, smoking, and signing contracts. 3. Marijuana can never be an excuse for misconduct or other inappropriate behavior such as driving or operating heavy machinery, III. Decriminalization of marijuana is not the same as legalization and would only benefit America and its citizens. A. The difference 1. Legalization would imply that the drug could be trafficked, sold, and possessed legally. 2. Decriminalization simply lowers the punishment for possession of small amounts of marijuana to small fines similar to traffic tickets. B. Decriminalization does not lead to greater marijuana use. 1. The National Academy of Sciences stated, "In sum, there is little evidence that decriminalization of marijuana use necessarily leads to a substantial increase in marijuana use." 2. The British Journal of Psychiatry said: "The available evidence suggests that removal of the prohibition against possession itself (decriminalization) does not increase cannabis use. ... This prohibition inflicts harms directly and is costly. Unless it can be shown that the removal of criminal penalties will increase use of other harmful drugs, ... it is difficult to see what society gains." C. Billions in tax dollars would be saved due to decriminalization. 1. Enforcing marijuana prohibition costs tax payers an estimated 10 billion dollars annually. 2. This money includes the arrests of more than 734,000 individuals a year, which is more than all arrests of violent crimes combined. ...