Here’s a common sense question regarding the legalization of marijuana: if weed is illegal, shouldn’t alcohol and tobacco be illegal, too?
I’m still on the fence regarding the legalization of marijuana because neither side has made a strong enough case. But it seems to me that an enormous hypocrisy is taking place in our country.
The arguments, to this point, have centered on morality and economics. And, while these are important issues that need to be addressed, the bigger picture is being ignored.
How is it OK to send somebody to jail for being intoxicated on marijuana, internal possession and whatnot, but people are allowed to get as drunk as they please on alcohol?
And why is it against the law to sell marijuana to anyone, but it’s only illegal to sell tobacco to minors?
Isn’t marijuana basically just a combination of alcohol and tobacco?
With weed, you get all of your beloved cancer-causing carcinogens offered by tobacco, while getting the warm fuzzy intoxication of alcohol. It’s as if scientists found a way to combine the two, but the government decided that it’s illegal to sell them together.
Once again, this is not a pro-marijuana argument.
Marijuana makes people lazy and apathetic. Some people have the determination and self-control to make something of their lives despite heavy marijuana use. But for those of us who are less motivated or less focused, marijuana can completely zap all of your potential. It can dim bright minds and cloud clear thoughts.
But alcohol and tobacco are no better!
How many people have died from cigarettes to this point? You’ve heard the stats, so I won’t bore you with the details. But if so much money gets poured into anti-tobacco campaigns and tobacco companies are as closely monitored, prohibited and sanctioned as they are, you know something really unhealthy must be in those little brown leaves.
Why do people continue smoking tobacco when they know, and in 2005 nobody can claim ignorance, that smoking leads to a myriad of health problems? How many people have to die before the government makes tobacco illegal?
The government certainly can’t claim that they keep marijuana illegal to sustain our health. Look at all the unhealthy things they still let us do to ourselves.
I’ve heard it said that a marijuana cigarette has as many unhealthy carcinogens as several cigarettes; I forget the exact ratio. But I’ve known plenty of old-timer pot heads who seem to be in reasonable health.
If weed is so much worse than cigarettes, wouldn’t a lifetime of marijuana use be equal to several lifetimes of tobacco use? Hypothetically, these guys should either be dead or in mind-numbing pain. Admittedly, most of these guys are bums, but they seem to be feeling alright.
And now we come to the real business: alcohol.
People die from cigarettes just like people die from alcohol, but how many homes have been wrecked by tobacco? How many families have been torn apart by tobacco use? How many jobs, friends, children or spouses have been lost due to tobacco addiction? Or from marijuana use for that matter?
The supposition is that alcohol can be enjoyed in moderation, and therefore, it should be legal to the people who won’t abuse it. So wouldn’t the same be true for marijuana?
If the issue is one of morality, alcohol is every bit as guilty as marijuana. Even if the issue is one of sin and religion, alcohol gets you just as drunk/high as marijuana.
So why is one OK and the other illegal?
The government tried to make alcohol illegal in the 1920s, and look how that turned out. The government gave in when they realized it was fighting a losing battle. The government is fighting another losing battle, but it might have more success if they exhibited a little consistency.
It’s ridiculous to tell us that we can’t get high on weed but we can get drunk on alcohol. Certainly alcohol has more damaging effects.
People probably crash their cars when they’re high on weed just like they do when they’re drunk on liquor. But the difference is that people drink liquor at bars and clubs and need to get home, so they drive. Most weed smokers do so at home and stay put once they’re high.
And then there’s addiction.
People get addicted to smoking tobacco and experience everything from bad breath to cancer. Alcoholics are addicted to drinking and burn their livers up. But until the term marijuanaholic becomes part of our lexicon, you can’t tell me that weed is a bigger problem than alcohol.
People do experience a psychological addiction to marijuana, but it’s not like they go through withdrawals if they don’t get it. They just sit around and complain about how bored they are.
Another excuse for keeping marijuana illegal is the determination that it is a gateway drug. And brother, let me tell you, if there’s a drug out there that opens a bigger gateway to further drug use than alcohol, I haven’t come across it yet.
I don’t know any people who tried marijuana before they tried alcohol, so I’d say being drunk is most people’s introduction to altered mind states. Getting high comes later, if at all.
One last time, this is not a plea to legalize marijuana. But looking at the three substances discussed here: if one is illegal, then shouldn’t all of them be?