I recently saw an article that deals with the puzzling subject of Marijuana. While many have been recently pushing for legalization, Mark Kirk proposed a new stricter law on Marijuana. He wants tougher punishment for those selling or found with Marijuana that has 20 percent THC or higher, also known as "Kush." This could mean up to 25 years in jail for just having a more potent form of marijuana.
After reading this article I disagreed with Mark Kirk's position. Why make make punishments tougher for slight variations of the same drug? After all, it has the same affects on the body, just less of it is needed. If anything it will decrease the volume of marijuana being sold.
On the other hand, I also saw an article that described various marijuana busts. The facts in this article pushed me more towards the idea of legalization. A recent farm was found with 1.6 billion dollars worth of marijuana, along with many other busts worth millions of dollars. If the government took over these productions, or at least heavily taxed them, combined with saving the money spent on drug enforcement, the economy could heavily benefit.
But does the profit outweigh the negatives? And what are the negatives?
Mark Kirk mentions that "Kush" "increases the harm to the system" but he has no evidence to back this up. No legitimate experiment has shown marijuana to have serious harm on health, but it can help medically.
So, should marijuana be legalized?
http://www.mpp.org/states/illinois/news/us-rep-mark-kirk-to-push.html
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Wow.. Really?! 25 years? So a teenager selling a fairly harmless drug and not committing a violent crime can get a jail sentence almost equal to that of murder.
ReplyDeleteIs Mark Kirk on crack?!
My main support of marijuana being legalized is 1)having it illegal helps fuel the drug trade in Mexico 2)it's everywhere 3) it's filling up our prisons, 4)it's not half as bad for you as alcohol or cigarettes. 5) as you said, we could make so much money off of this, and 6)what's with all of the health myths about marijuana? DARE may tell kids that marijuana is a gateway drug that gives you brain damage, but the World Health Organization would definitely say otherwise based on research that's been done to debunk these stories.
Great analysis, Brian. But are we taking Mark Kirk at his word here? Or is there something else at work? Think more about the nature of the American political system.
ReplyDeleteI couldnt agree more with you. Marijuana is in the top 5 crops of every state in the US and the largest for a good portion of them. If the US could lose the stigma associated with the drug, the monetary pressures that this country has could be lifted. Unfortunately there is not an enormous backing in politics these days for legalization.
ReplyDeleteMarijuana is mistakenly associated with "hard" drugs, narcotics, as a drug that fuels the drug trade at the U.S.-Mexico border. Marijuana's association with these drugs is inaccurate. New studies are proving it is less harmful then alcohol and cigarettes, yet Mark Kirk is pushing for harsher punishment and new laws. It will take time, but soon the general public will become more aware of the truth behind marijuana, that it is a drug, but so is alcohol.
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