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Denver, Colo. made headlines this Tuesday when they became the first American city to legalize the possession of marijuana. Approximately, 56,001 voters, 54 percent of total voters in Denver, voted to allow a resident over the age of 21 to possess up to one ounce of marijuana.
The law is entitled "The Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative" and is the first act taken to draw comparisons between the effects of alcohol and marijuana. The campaign for the initiative focused on reports showing alcohol relating to violent crimes and a high overdose death rate, compared to marijuana which, according to the initiative, has no connection to violent crimes or any overdose related deaths.
The initiative itself states that "the National Institutes of Health reports that an average of 317 Americans die annually as a result of alcohol overdoses. There has never been a single fatal marijuana overdose recorded in medical literature, as noted by the British Medical Journal in September 2003."
The Surgeon General warns of possible effects of marijuana use, however. Among the known or suspected chronic effects of marijuana use, warned by the Surgeon General are short-term memory impairment, slowness of learning, impaired lung function similar to that found in cigarette smokers, decreased sperm count/sperm mobility and interference with ovulation and pre-natal development.
In a Health People 2000 campaign, the National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention reported that nearly half of all deaths from motor vehicle crashes are alcohol-related. It also found that victims are intoxicated in approximately one-third of all homicides, drownings and boating deaths.
Mason Tvert is the campaign organizer of SAFER, Safer Alternatives for Enjoyable Recreation, a Colorado-based non-profit organization that aims to educate about the harmful effects of alcohol use compared to the effects of marijuana use. Tvert has been lobbying for the legalization of marijuana for some time now. He believes that using marijuana has less harmful effects on someone as opposed to alcohol.
"We educated voters about the facts that marijuana is less harmful to the user and society than alcohol," said Tvert in a CNN press release. "To prohibit adults from making the rational, safer choice to use marijuana is bad public policy."
Students at Clemson are divided over whether or not to make possession of marijuana legal. "Doesn't it make you wonder why we are practically the only country left in the world with such antiquated, strict laws against marijuana use?" said junior Spanish and international trade major, Rebecca Dawsey.
Some, like junior architecture major Dale Felton, argue that legalization of marijuana will not decrease crime rates, as Tvert believes it will, but add to the problems of society.
"Well i think it will only cause the further degradation of our society and create another problem like we already witness with alcohol," Fenton said.
Though Denver is the first to make marijuana possession legal, other areas are taking actions against stringent marijuana-related laws. Currently, Oakland, Calif. and Seattle, Wash. with a few other college towns have already produced laws making possession of marijuana the lowest priority of law enforcement. Also, there are ten states, including Colorado that legalized marijuana for medical uses.
There is currently legislation pending in S.C. for the legalization of marijuana for medical use. H.R. 2592, entitled "The State's Right to Medical Marijuana Act" was introduced in July of 2001 to provide medical use of marijuana. It also seeks to amend the federal Controlled Substances Act to allow physicians to prescribe and recommend marijuana for medical use where permitted by law.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled that patients possessing marijuana for medical uses are not exempt from federal prosecution from the Justice Department for violating the Controlled Substances Act.
It is yet to be seen how Denver's decision will affect the existing laws regarding marijuana in America.
Source: Tiger, The (Clemson U, SC Edu)
Copyright: 2005 The Tiger
Contact: editor@thetigernews.com
Website: The Tiger News: Top List, Net worth, Culture & Society Newspaper
The law is entitled "The Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative" and is the first act taken to draw comparisons between the effects of alcohol and marijuana. The campaign for the initiative focused on reports showing alcohol relating to violent crimes and a high overdose death rate, compared to marijuana which, according to the initiative, has no connection to violent crimes or any overdose related deaths.
The initiative itself states that "the National Institutes of Health reports that an average of 317 Americans die annually as a result of alcohol overdoses. There has never been a single fatal marijuana overdose recorded in medical literature, as noted by the British Medical Journal in September 2003."
The Surgeon General warns of possible effects of marijuana use, however. Among the known or suspected chronic effects of marijuana use, warned by the Surgeon General are short-term memory impairment, slowness of learning, impaired lung function similar to that found in cigarette smokers, decreased sperm count/sperm mobility and interference with ovulation and pre-natal development.
In a Health People 2000 campaign, the National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention reported that nearly half of all deaths from motor vehicle crashes are alcohol-related. It also found that victims are intoxicated in approximately one-third of all homicides, drownings and boating deaths.
Mason Tvert is the campaign organizer of SAFER, Safer Alternatives for Enjoyable Recreation, a Colorado-based non-profit organization that aims to educate about the harmful effects of alcohol use compared to the effects of marijuana use. Tvert has been lobbying for the legalization of marijuana for some time now. He believes that using marijuana has less harmful effects on someone as opposed to alcohol.
"We educated voters about the facts that marijuana is less harmful to the user and society than alcohol," said Tvert in a CNN press release. "To prohibit adults from making the rational, safer choice to use marijuana is bad public policy."
Students at Clemson are divided over whether or not to make possession of marijuana legal. "Doesn't it make you wonder why we are practically the only country left in the world with such antiquated, strict laws against marijuana use?" said junior Spanish and international trade major, Rebecca Dawsey.
Some, like junior architecture major Dale Felton, argue that legalization of marijuana will not decrease crime rates, as Tvert believes it will, but add to the problems of society.
"Well i think it will only cause the further degradation of our society and create another problem like we already witness with alcohol," Fenton said.
Though Denver is the first to make marijuana possession legal, other areas are taking actions against stringent marijuana-related laws. Currently, Oakland, Calif. and Seattle, Wash. with a few other college towns have already produced laws making possession of marijuana the lowest priority of law enforcement. Also, there are ten states, including Colorado that legalized marijuana for medical uses.
There is currently legislation pending in S.C. for the legalization of marijuana for medical use. H.R. 2592, entitled "The State's Right to Medical Marijuana Act" was introduced in July of 2001 to provide medical use of marijuana. It also seeks to amend the federal Controlled Substances Act to allow physicians to prescribe and recommend marijuana for medical use where permitted by law.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled that patients possessing marijuana for medical uses are not exempt from federal prosecution from the Justice Department for violating the Controlled Substances Act.
It is yet to be seen how Denver's decision will affect the existing laws regarding marijuana in America.
Source: Tiger, The (Clemson U, SC Edu)
Copyright: 2005 The Tiger
Contact: editor@thetigernews.com
Website: The Tiger News: Top List, Net worth, Culture & Society Newspaper
