Ever been to a party where the guy that's drunk, stoned or both starts talking about why marijuana should be legalized?
Well maybe it's time for us, and the suits, to start paying a little attention.
Even though the guy at the party might give some off-the-wall reason as to why he thinks it should be legalized — like, "It's from the earth," "God put this here for us," or "The tree in my backyard is green and it's not illegal for me to smoke that," — there are still some valid reasons why pot should be legalized.
Let's face it — the current drug policy isn't working. Shootings, violence and even wars could be prevented or diminished with a solution to the problem. Rapists and other violent criminals are being released from overcrowded jails everyday because our jails are filled with non-violent drug offenders.
"There's not very many violent crimes related to marijuana," said John Jahamt, the Cincinnati chapter president of Students for Sensible Drug Policies. "It would still have a profound impact to reduce any violence."
Many, if not all, of those deaths might be prevented if someone could just walk up to Stop-N-Go, grab a dime bag for 10 bucks and not have to walk up on some shady dealer's place anymore.
That's where the argument becomes intriguing for lawmakers. If it's sold in a store, it can be taxed.
The feds could, should and would tax marijuana as much as possible if it were sold in stores. Not to mention the millions of jobs that it would create if it were harvested in the United States. That's a lot more money than the government will make when a cop issues a few $100 possession fines per night.
"I could talk for an hour about the agriculture that would stem from this," Jahamt said. "Not only would you make jobs for growers, and if you legalized marijuana, then hemp production would also be legalized."
Just recently, the president of the North American Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws took a fake check for $14 billion to Washington, D.C. that represented the predicted amount of money the government could have made in 2008 if marijuana was legal.
"If it's legalized, the government can regulate it, which means there won't be a bunch of drug dealers running around with weapons," Jahamt said. "It would take [marijuana] out of the hands of the drug dealers and put it into the hands of the government."
One of the downsides to legalization is that driving after smoking can be every bit as dangerous as drunk driving.
We've all heard people say that they can drive safely after rolling up a giant joint, but that just may not true.
Cops need to have some way of testing for marijuana if they pull someone over like they have the breathalyzer test for alcohol. Right now the only testing police have is if the person's eyes look like a glazed donut and they smell like pot.
According to Jahamt, the technology for this sort of test is just around the corner.
"That technology is right on the brink of being developed," Jahamt said.
As soon as there is a way to test for marijuana on the spot, the drug should be legalized for the sole purpose of all the crime it could prevent.
It would help with the drug war going on in Mexico. America's farmers could begin to grow the plant and the multi-million dollar business of marijuana could stay right here in the United States.
"People smuggle marijuana across the border by the pound. It's obviously risky, but it would cut down on crime across the border because the government would be able to regulate the growing and dispensing of marijuana," Jahamt said.
These arguments are all completely valid as to why the government should legalize marijuana. The drug alone could help pull this country out of our economic slump and help end violence across the country.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The News Record
Contact: The News Record
Copyright: 2009 The News Record
Website: Pot Legalization Has Perks For Feds
Well maybe it's time for us, and the suits, to start paying a little attention.
Even though the guy at the party might give some off-the-wall reason as to why he thinks it should be legalized — like, "It's from the earth," "God put this here for us," or "The tree in my backyard is green and it's not illegal for me to smoke that," — there are still some valid reasons why pot should be legalized.
Let's face it — the current drug policy isn't working. Shootings, violence and even wars could be prevented or diminished with a solution to the problem. Rapists and other violent criminals are being released from overcrowded jails everyday because our jails are filled with non-violent drug offenders.
"There's not very many violent crimes related to marijuana," said John Jahamt, the Cincinnati chapter president of Students for Sensible Drug Policies. "It would still have a profound impact to reduce any violence."
Many, if not all, of those deaths might be prevented if someone could just walk up to Stop-N-Go, grab a dime bag for 10 bucks and not have to walk up on some shady dealer's place anymore.
That's where the argument becomes intriguing for lawmakers. If it's sold in a store, it can be taxed.
The feds could, should and would tax marijuana as much as possible if it were sold in stores. Not to mention the millions of jobs that it would create if it were harvested in the United States. That's a lot more money than the government will make when a cop issues a few $100 possession fines per night.
"I could talk for an hour about the agriculture that would stem from this," Jahamt said. "Not only would you make jobs for growers, and if you legalized marijuana, then hemp production would also be legalized."
Just recently, the president of the North American Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws took a fake check for $14 billion to Washington, D.C. that represented the predicted amount of money the government could have made in 2008 if marijuana was legal.
"If it's legalized, the government can regulate it, which means there won't be a bunch of drug dealers running around with weapons," Jahamt said. "It would take [marijuana] out of the hands of the drug dealers and put it into the hands of the government."
One of the downsides to legalization is that driving after smoking can be every bit as dangerous as drunk driving.
We've all heard people say that they can drive safely after rolling up a giant joint, but that just may not true.
Cops need to have some way of testing for marijuana if they pull someone over like they have the breathalyzer test for alcohol. Right now the only testing police have is if the person's eyes look like a glazed donut and they smell like pot.
According to Jahamt, the technology for this sort of test is just around the corner.
"That technology is right on the brink of being developed," Jahamt said.
As soon as there is a way to test for marijuana on the spot, the drug should be legalized for the sole purpose of all the crime it could prevent.
It would help with the drug war going on in Mexico. America's farmers could begin to grow the plant and the multi-million dollar business of marijuana could stay right here in the United States.
"People smuggle marijuana across the border by the pound. It's obviously risky, but it would cut down on crime across the border because the government would be able to regulate the growing and dispensing of marijuana," Jahamt said.
These arguments are all completely valid as to why the government should legalize marijuana. The drug alone could help pull this country out of our economic slump and help end violence across the country.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The News Record
Contact: The News Record
Copyright: 2009 The News Record
Website: Pot Legalization Has Perks For Feds
