Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Legalization of Marijuana
...gument being that, “it had a violent effect of degenerate races,” this specifically referring to Mexican immigrants who entered the U.S. during the great Depression. This due to the fact that no licenses where issued therefore making marijuana illegal. Proponents One of the main groups who support the legalization of marijuana is National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML), which was founded in 1970. The board of directors is made up of the “who’s who” of science, ranging from Nobel Prize Winners, to state senators, to Harvard Medical Professors. Other groups that also support the legalization of marijuana are Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse (MAMA), Common Scene for Drug Policy (CSDP), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP). Theses groups believe that marijuana should be decriminalized if not legalized completely as well as the proper education of the people, primarily young people. Some also feel that civil liberties and basic rights are being taken from the public. As political analyst David Boaz argues, “in a free country people have the right to ingest whatever substance they choose without governmental interference.” This is true to some extent. Americans consume beer, alcohol, coffee (which contains caffeine), and can smoke tobacco. All of which are legal to most people. Now with tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine contribute to around 500,000 deaths a year compared to marijuana with 0. DEA Judge Francis L. Young says that in order to over dose (OD) on marijuana a person would have to consume or smoke 20,000 to 40,000 times as much as what is contained in one marijuana cigarette, that is nearly 1500 lbs of marijuana. Boaz also makes an argument that it seems unfair and unnecessary to ban a recreational drug because it should not be used during a pregnancy, due to the complications and possible birth defects. Then what about alcohol, with fetal alcohol syndrome; tobacco, with asthma and under developed lungs; and other legal drugs that end up causing low birth weights and other complications. It would only seem to make sense that misuse of legal drugs (alcohol, tobacco, caffeine) as well as illegal drugs contribute to the problem. Thus, society wants to ban cocaine and marijuana because of these drugs potential for misuse, then society should logically also ban alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, and similar drugs. Opponents Some of the groups that are opposed to legalization of marijuana or other drugs are Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Partnership for Drug Free America (PDFA), National Families in Action (NFIA), and the Family Research Council (FRC). Most believe that drugs are very harmful and should be stopped at all cost, and thus began the “war on drugs”. The war on drugs began during the 1980’s while Ronald Regan was in office and continues to the present day. Supporting pollitions push for stiffer penalties to try and stop the growth of drugs sold, used, and brought into the U.S. everyday illegally. The major underlying theory is calling marijua...