Published in the 4/22 edition of La Vie (Lebanon Valley College's weekly rag). I wrote the case for cannabis, the perspectives editor wrote the case against. Yes, I schooled her. I schooled her good.
***
There is no other way to say it: marijuana prohibition is the dumbest, most harmful thing America has ever done to its citizens. It is the culmination of American legislative stupidity - placing the welfare and pocketbooks of every taxpaying citizen in jeopardy.
To legalize or not to legalize is not even a question. The defense for prohibition formulated in the 30s has been debunked by the magic of science and mathematics. Crazed reefer addicts aren’t cruising our streets looking for helpless virgins to rape. Drugs sold by Pfizer wreak more havoc on the brain than the finest Moroccan hashish.
It is time for America to face the music: the slew of prohibition laws are stupid. There is no shame in admitting to the mistake; oversight happens all the time and people make stupid mistakes everyday. Now it is high time for the mistake of marijuana prohibition to be corrected. Are these swine going to acknowledge the harsh truth that they were, and still are wrong?
Ah, the truth. A rare and dangerous commodity in this day and age. The truth of the $150 billion we spend per year on enforcement and court costs, with 50% of arrests being marijuana related. Or the truth of the $68 billion per year we spend on prisons, with 33% of those in jail there on marijuana charges.
No, President Obama, perhaps legalizing marijuana won’t help us “grow our economy”. Maybe it would save us, the taxpayers, the billions we lose annually on this waste of a war. Maybe it would help trim the profit margins of the Mexican drug cartels that make $25 billion every year off of American drug habits. On that note, if drugs were legalized, would there be violent drug dealers at all?
This isn’t just about the Mike Phelps and Andy Goetz’s of the world anymore. Marijuana legalization is no longer a case of “fight the power, man.” Our economy is hurting, and while legalization marijuana wouldn’t be a cure-all it would certainly be a boon. Mexico is burning, and the reason why there are violent drug dealers is because America created drug laws. Prohibition has created more problems for the US and the world, in terms of money as well as quality of life, than will ever be worth it.
***
I think I could have done better, but I'm happy with what I had. With a 400 word count limit, I couldn't lay down as much as I would have liked, but I think I got the point across.
- Rev.
Showing posts with label NORML. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NORML. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
With Apologies to Mom and Dad: A Call to Arms at LVC for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws
An Open Letter to Lebanon Valley College Administration and Students:
Yesterday, my best friend was suspended from school and banned from campus for a year and a half, spent the night on a steel cot, and is facing two felony charges and a misdemeanor. What crime is he guilty of that warrants such heinous retribution? Why, it was simply the possession of a plant. Because he, an adult citizen of the United States of America, refused to buy into the propaganda and bullshit behind this “evil” flora he now faces a setback in his academic development and a criminal record that could haunt him forever. In this foul year of our lord, 2008, the mentality of our government is still decidedly anti-Marijuana, and to what end?
In 2005, there were 43,443 alcohol related traffic fatalities. Every year there are approximately 100,000 alcohol related deaths overall. Every weekend, bars are open until 2:00 AM and freely serve liquor, wine, and beer to those patrons who are of age. And in 2007 alone, there were exactly zero deaths related to marijuana overdose. The government condones the sale and consumption of alcohol, while it chases after and persecutes marijuana users more ardently than they pursue rapists and child molesters. While my friend is being banned from the Lebanon Valley College campus, there are five registered sex offenders living within a stone’s throw of my house. I know that I have been accused of being irrational, combative, and impulsive... but am I really the only one who sees a problem with this?
In my three years of college I have seen a drunk throw a chair, get in a fight with his best friend, destroy college property, and raise all sorts of hell. In my three years of college I have not once seen somebody under the influence of marijuana raise a hand against friend or foe, knock over a trash can, or otherwise be a total dick. Marijuana has countless medical benefits which could do good for all of mankind. Industrial hemp is a useful and environmentally sound alternative to cotton, plastics, glass, has many nutrition benefits, and doesn’t even get you high. Yet it is illegal because of its kinship with cannabis. Who else sees a discrepancy here?
LVC Administrators and Students, I am writing to tell you that neither I nor my fellow students will stand for this anymore. I, for one, refuse to relegate myself to the shadows with this anymore. I am willing to standup as a proud American citizen and say, “I support, and am willing to fight for, the decriminalization of marijuana.”
So, dear readers, especially those of you at LVC, I am going to go about establishing a chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws on the Lebanon Valley College campus. Who’s with me?
Rev.
PS:
Here’s a video of Seth McFarlane (creator of Family Guy) talking at Stanford. About five minutes into the video he gives a good rundown of why pot was made illegal in the first place. Here’s a spoiler: it was because of a government lobbyist back in the 1800’s. Check it out at about 4:30 minutes... you'll be enlightened if you haven't been already.
PPS:
This post is dedicated to the man who was persecuted by these swine. I'm sorry that it took a tragedy to move me to activism. Big ups to a true blood.
Yesterday, my best friend was suspended from school and banned from campus for a year and a half, spent the night on a steel cot, and is facing two felony charges and a misdemeanor. What crime is he guilty of that warrants such heinous retribution? Why, it was simply the possession of a plant. Because he, an adult citizen of the United States of America, refused to buy into the propaganda and bullshit behind this “evil” flora he now faces a setback in his academic development and a criminal record that could haunt him forever. In this foul year of our lord, 2008, the mentality of our government is still decidedly anti-Marijuana, and to what end?
In 2005, there were 43,443 alcohol related traffic fatalities. Every year there are approximately 100,000 alcohol related deaths overall. Every weekend, bars are open until 2:00 AM and freely serve liquor, wine, and beer to those patrons who are of age. And in 2007 alone, there were exactly zero deaths related to marijuana overdose. The government condones the sale and consumption of alcohol, while it chases after and persecutes marijuana users more ardently than they pursue rapists and child molesters. While my friend is being banned from the Lebanon Valley College campus, there are five registered sex offenders living within a stone’s throw of my house. I know that I have been accused of being irrational, combative, and impulsive... but am I really the only one who sees a problem with this?
In my three years of college I have seen a drunk throw a chair, get in a fight with his best friend, destroy college property, and raise all sorts of hell. In my three years of college I have not once seen somebody under the influence of marijuana raise a hand against friend or foe, knock over a trash can, or otherwise be a total dick. Marijuana has countless medical benefits which could do good for all of mankind. Industrial hemp is a useful and environmentally sound alternative to cotton, plastics, glass, has many nutrition benefits, and doesn’t even get you high. Yet it is illegal because of its kinship with cannabis. Who else sees a discrepancy here?
LVC Administrators and Students, I am writing to tell you that neither I nor my fellow students will stand for this anymore. I, for one, refuse to relegate myself to the shadows with this anymore. I am willing to standup as a proud American citizen and say, “I support, and am willing to fight for, the decriminalization of marijuana.”
So, dear readers, especially those of you at LVC, I am going to go about establishing a chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws on the Lebanon Valley College campus. Who’s with me?
Rev.
PS:
Here’s a video of Seth McFarlane (creator of Family Guy) talking at Stanford. About five minutes into the video he gives a good rundown of why pot was made illegal in the first place. Here’s a spoiler: it was because of a government lobbyist back in the 1800’s. Check it out at about 4:30 minutes... you'll be enlightened if you haven't been already.
PPS:
This post is dedicated to the man who was persecuted by these swine. I'm sorry that it took a tragedy to move me to activism. Big ups to a true blood.
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