Monday, March 31, 2014
List it: The 10 Biggest Losers from Marijuana Prohibition (Part 2)
Just when I thought that the only news I would get to read today would have to do with the "end" of open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with another news story worth spreading. Reading the USA Today I found an article about The New Jersey Municipal prosecutors coming out in favor of marijuana legalization. Chris Christy would likely veto any bill (he is known to be against legalization) but it is still a sign of the time that prosecutors in the state have stepped up and taken a stand.
Before finishing my list of the 10 biggest losers in marijuana prohibition (Part 1 found here), I want to respond to one part of the story that appeared to be contentious. It seems like the only legitimate opposition to legalization found in this article was the possibility of increased motor vehicle accidents. While this concern is certainly worth entertaining, it doesn't hold up to strict scrutiny. For starters, those who would be likely to smoke and drive are likely already doing so, without much in the way of noticeable enforcement difficulties. When they complain about the fact that there is no reliable way to test those who may be under the influence (since the tests reveal consumption dating back weeks, long after the individual has stopped being intoxicated), they seem to forget that it is already currently illegal to smoke marijuana and then drive a vehicle. Any difficulty they are likely to incur, they are likely already incurring; legalizing possession does not significantly change much.
Now back to the list. As a refresher here are the first five losers from marijuana prohibition.
10) Convicted Dealers
9) The Constitution
8) Recreational Marijuana Users
7) Mexico
6) Inner-Cities
5) Those who need it medically: Again, I was surprised this wasn't higher on my list. The idea that we have kept so many people who can be helped by medical marijuana from accessing what is sometimes the only effective drug (or one that is preferred over others for a variety of reasons) is appalling. Fortunately they have usually been able to acquire some (assuming they know of its potential) on the black market (subjecting themselves to all the problems from #6) and many states are making it easier and more legal for them. This fact coupled with relatively lighter punishments (assuming they aren't young men of color) is all that kept this group from the top of this list.
4) Young men of color: They live in greater numbers in our inner cities which subjects them to greater risks. It is much easier to become a drug addict or a gang member when you are surrounded by it as a part of daily life. Then to top it off, they are arrested, convicted, and given greater sentences in disproportionately higher numbers. They are stigmatized, profiled, stop & frisked, held back and pushed down. If our goal was to keep them from succeeding in life, we couldn't have devised a better plan.
3) Drug Addicts: Some of the more cynical out there won't think this is such a bad thing. We're intentionally arresting, prosecuting and sentencing them after all, aren't they supposed to be losers in the war on drugs? Actually, no. The theoretical basis for arresting drug addicts is to prevent others from going down that path and helping addicts recover. It appears that we have failed on both fronts, and at great expense. By expense I'm not referring to the amount of money it takes to conduct these arrests, nor am I alluding to the billions in lost tax revenue; I'm talking about the cost we face by ruining so many people's lives. Being arrested on drug charges can derail a career, disrupt a family and stigmatize a person for life. Even if they do eventually get clean (from outside help not from prison) then they still carry the stigma of felony records that dampen the opportunities they have for the rest of their lives. Remember, most drug users are non-violent people, few marijuana users move on to try harder drugs and only 4% of people who ever try marijuana become addicted. For those people who do become addicted to harder drugs, marijuana can often be a stepping stone back down from addiction (quite the opposite of the gateway theory that we hear all about). Doesn't the law seem a little crazy in this light.
2) Their Families: The families of drug users suffer even more than the users themselves. Children are being separated from their families, wives are seeing their husbands go to jail, and we are incarcerating the primary bread winner in far too many families. These people are suffering, often through no fault of their own (especially the children). It isn't unreasonable to take children away from neglectful or abusive parents; but it makes no sense to do so over a drug whose use is widespread, relatively benign (compared to most other illicit drugs and even most legal ones), and when the users are non-violent working class people. We have to remember, it isn't just the users we are punishing with marijuana prohibition, it is everyone that knows and loves them, their community and most importantly their children that depend on them.
And the biggest loser from marijuana prohibition is...
1) America (i.e. the people): We are all the biggest losers in the war on marijuana. Not only are we spending billions in enforcement, but we are losing out on billions in lost tax revenue. But the costs we face go far beyond dollars and cents. We are condemning entire communities to anemic growth, we are subjecting children to unnecessary burdens, we are tearing the Constitution to pieces, we are funding the largest and most violent criminal organizations in the world, we are diverting resources from helping the millions of people who die from prescription drug overdoses (marijuana overdose figures for all of recorded history = 0), we are stigmatizing entire racial demographics and breaking the bonds of trust between minority communities and the police who serve them. Perhaps most important to me is that we are lying to our children and they know it. Your kids are more tech savvy than you, it is pretty easy for them to find out that Santa isn't real and even easier for them to recognize our obvious hyperbole over the dangers of marijuana use. The biggest problem with this is that they won't believe us when we try to tell them about about the real and honest dangers associated with drug consumption. We can't teach them about tolerance, withdrawal, addiction or dependence because they don't believe us anymore. Far from alleviating the problem we are only exacerbating it.
Isn't it time for a change? Isn't it long past time for a change? Even if you don't support or condone the use of marijuana (a perfectly reasonable position) can't we realize that trying to prohibit it is a counterproductive and futile effort. The tides are turning on marijuana legalization... it's about time.
Stay tuned tomorrow for the conclusion of this three part series. List it: 5 Biggest winners from Marijuana Prohibition.
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