Rutgers Model Congress 2009
Massachusetts Democrat
Senate Judiciary Committee
Legalization of Marijuana
Claire Rhee
Churchill Junior High School
“There is nowhere presented fact or research data that would justify our current legal
attitude toward [marijuana]”(Smith 105). Throughout the history of our nation, marijuana has
been prominent in a variety of aspects, and is now evolving into a controversial issue over its
legal status. The war on drugs, much like prohibition, has clearly been a failure. Marijuana
remains easily accessible, and in the past month alone, 14 million Americans have admitted to
using it (Marijuana Debate). Not only this, but many states have already taken steps to legalizing
marijuana, and with Obama’s new policy, this opens new doors and broadens horizons for those
who believe that marijuana should be legal. Marijuana could also greatly help our economy, and
has many uses in the medical field. The legalization of marijuana could be an enormous step into
the advancement of this nation, aiding those in medicine and the economy in the current
depression.
As seen in many states throughout the nation, the legalization of marijuana is becoming a
demand of the public. In the state of Massachusetts they have lowered the charges for possession
of an ounce or less of marijuana, effectively decriminalizing it to an extent (Armentano 1). In
addition to this, 65% of voters in Massachusetts are pushing for medicinal marijuana (1). A
similar situation is occurring in the states of Michigan and California, where the medical use of
marijuana is allowed and often encourages (Nasaw 1). With Obama’s new policy, which states
that one must violate both federal and state law in order to be prosecuted, this permits the people
of states such as these to have more freedom in what they do with marijuana (Medical
Marijuana). For example, in the case of Charlie Lynch, who released medical marijuana in the
state of California, it was completely legal, and his trial is currently being reconsidered (Medical
Marijuana). This perfectly exemplifies the new advancements that our society is making
concerning drugs that were once considered evils, opening new doors and showing that the
people need and want these provisions. One-third of society wants to completely decriminalize
marijuana, and 54% of Democrats agree (Joseph 3). By taking away these privileges that society
believes we should have, the government is displeasing the nation on a whole.
Marijuana has been present around the world for centuries, used as a medicinal product in
South Africa, South America, Turkey, Egypt and many areas of Asia (Grinspoon 218). Through
the use and experimentation of this drug, it has been found that it can be used in a variety of
purposes, such as an oxycoxic, antiasthmatic, topical anesthetic and an aid in facilitate
withdrawal among many other uses (226). Especially in modern medicine, marijuana has great
potential in aiding glaucoma patients by reducing intraocular pressure, and also in AIDS or
cancer patients (Marijuana: A study of State Policies and Penalties Volume 2 3). Another useful
aspect of this drug is that there is a very high ratio between a lethal dose and an effective dose,
meaning that there is virtually no way to die of an overdose (Should Marijuana Be Legal?). The
possible uses of marijuana extend in all medical fields – the reason that states like California and
Michigan have legalized the medicinal use. The war on drugs so far has proved unsuccessful,
and when marijuana can be used for better purposes, it is vital that the government quickly
legalizes it and utilizes these possibilities.
So far, there have been no crimes, or negative aspects, associated with marijuana
(Grinspoon 347). Even if the drug was proven more harmful than anything legal, such as tobacco
or alcohol, it is a violation of one’s personal rights to make this drug illegal (Messerli 1). It
intrudes on the personal freedom of the person, seeing as though the drug only inflicts harm upon
the user themselves – it is their own decision, and if they choose to do so, that is also their choice
(1). The legalization of marijuana would also help reduce crime and street fights about marijuana,
and this would effectively put many drug dealers out of business and discourage the black
market (1). The war on drugs has been futile and useless, putting people who would not commit
a true federal offense into jail for simply owning an ounce of a potentially harmless drug. The
strict marijuana policies are absurd, and Lester Grinspoon wrote that “To send a person whose
behavior presents no essential threat to the fabric of society to such a place is absurd. Worse, it
throws someone whose only ‘crime’ may be that he smoked marihuana into the close contact
with a number of much more serious offenders” (Grinspoon 354). The United States holds on 5%
of the world’s population, and 25% of its prisoners – 47.5% of these prisoners are in jail for
marijuana, making the United States the most crime filled nation as a result of illegal marijuana
(Klein 1).
Marijuana could also boost the failing economy. In the imprisonment of offenders, the
nation spends approximately $68 billion on corrections, and one-third of those in correctional
facilities have been convicted of a non-violent drug crime (1). 150 billion dollars are spent
annually on policing and court cases involving marijuana, a large waste of money that could
currently be used to pay off the national debt (1). A retired Orange County Superior Court
Justice, James Gray, claimed that “…by decriminalizing marijuana and seeking to arrest and
prosecute and imprison nonviable defenders, the state could save a billion dollars” (Should
marijuana be legal?). This is just one state – the amount of money that could potentially be
saved by the nation is immense. In states like California, where marijuana is a huge cash crop, a
simple 10% tax on legalized marijuana would yield 1.4 billion dollars (Klein 1). The legalization
of this drug would also produce many jobs for the public and unemployed – regulation of the
black market, people needed to grow and produce marijuana etc. (Marijuana Debate). Evidently,
the decriminalization of marijuana would save and create a lot of money for the government and
effectively help the economy.
Whether it is illegal or not, the widespread use of marijuana is inevitable. Today, when
marijuana is illegal, 16.5% of eighth graders claim they have tried to use it, and 44.8% of high
school seniors have tried it (Marijuana Debate). The war against drugs is similar to prohibition –
it simply produces a large black market. 42% of the nation has admitted to using marijuana –
22% higher than the rate in some legalized nations, such as the Netherlands (Should marijuana
be legal?). This exemplifies the clear futility of the war on drugs. The government is also
distributing marijuana for medicinal purposes through the Compassionate Investigational New
Drug Program (Medical marijuana). This program began with the first Bush administration,
sending marijuana to twenty five people across the nation every month (Medical marijuana). The
number of people receiving the drug has decreased to five people, but the government has closed
the program off to all others in need of this highly effective painkiller (Medical marijuana).
What right does the government have to criminalize marijuana, and then proceed to send it to
certain exceptions to this law throughout the states? Through this program, the government is
negating its own laws and promoting the usage of illegal marijuana.
Marijuana is a drug that has the potential to help our nation greatly, but instead, is
throwing hundreds of thousands of people in jail and promoting the breaking of the nation’s laws.
As a relatively uninvestigated drug, it has the capacity to aid in medicine greatly – liberal states
throughout the nation have legalized its medicinal use because they see this possibility, and these
actions have successfully overridden federal laws with Obama’s new policy. The legalization of
marijuana could yield billions of dollars to the nation, and help the current economical status.
The war on drugs so far has also been useless, much like prohibition, promoting a black market
and failing to produce any significant results. It has successfully thrown good citizens into jail,
and made the United States into the most criminalized nation in the world. The actions of the
government have held back the true potential of marijuana, and it is vital that this drug is
legalized for the good of the people.
Works Consulted
Abel, David. "Mass. Voters OK Decriminalization of Marijuana." The Boston Globe. 4
November 2008. Online. Internet.
<http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/11/question_2_setu.html> 8
April 2009.
Armentano, Paul. "Voters Say Yes to Marijuana in Massachusetts and Michigan." Alternet.org. 5
November 2008. Online. Internet.
<http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/106126/voters_say_yes_to_marijuana_in_massach
usetts_and_michigan/> 8 April 2009.
Carroll, Joseph. "Who Supports Marijuana Legalization?" The Gallup Poll. 1 November 2008.
Online. Internet. <http://www.csdp.org/research/gallup_marijuana_2005.pdf> 8 April
2009.
Cloud, John. "Is Pot Good For You?" Time. 4 November 2002. Online. Internet.
<http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1003570-1,00.html> 8 April 2009.
Grinspoon, Lester. Marihuana Reconsidered. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1977.
Klein, Joe. "Why Legalizing Marijuana Makes Sense." Time. 2 April 2009. Online. Internet.
<http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1889021,00.html> 8 April 2009.
Marijuana Debate[television broadcast]. Atlanta, GA: CNN, 27 March, 2009.
Medical Marijuana[television broadcast]. Atlanta, GA: CNN, 28 March, 2009.
Messerli, Joe. "Should Marijuana be Legalized Under any Circumstances?" BalancedPolitics.org.
7 March 2008. Online. Internet.
<http://www.balancedpolitics.org/marijuana_legalization.htm> 8 April 2009.
Nasaw, Daniel. "US Elections: States Vote on Abortion, Marijuana and Gay Marriage."
Guardian.co.uk. 5 November 2008. Online. Internet.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/05/uselections2008-michigan-marijuanaabortions-southdakota-michigan-massachusetts> 8 April 2009.
National Governors’ Conference, comp. Marijuana: A study of State Policies and Penalties. Vol.
1. Washington D.C: Center for Policy Research and Analysis, 1977.
National Governors’ Conference, comp. Marijuana: A study of State Policies and Penalties. Vol.
2. Washington D.C: Center for Policy Research and Analysis, 1977.
National Governors’ Conference, comp. Marijuana: A study of State Policies and Penalties. Vol.
3. Washington D.C: Center for Policy Research and Analysis, 1977.
Should marijuana be legal?[television broadcast]. Atlanta, GA: CNN, 29 March, 2009.
Smith, David E. The New Social Drug: Cultural, Medical, and Legal Perspectives on Marijuana.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1970.