The smoke screen over legalisation - Opinion piece about the legalisation of Marijuana
I do not understand the fascination with marijuana and I did not support the legalisation at all, until now.
After reading many articles, and yes they were academic and not some hippie’s journals, I found myself asking ‘why not?’ I am also not talking about only legalising it for medicinal purposes; I am saying legalise it for recreational use too.
I started researching my argument against the legalisation with the purpose to end the façade of legalising it for ‘medicinal purposes’. I have seen many young people smoking and they were suffering from nothing but being chilled.
I feel it would not be far-off to say that most people against it are approaching from the "I've never tried it" ignorant stance.
Please don’t get me wrong, I do not condone the illegal smoking of marijuana but it is important to gain all the facts before passing judgement.
The most obvious argument against the legalisation is that marijuana is a drug and can thus be classified as dangerous and unhealthy. Yet, this was the one point which fell apart as soon as I looked for the negative effects.
As it turns out, there has not been enough research done on the effects and dangers of marijuana because it is illegal to smoke it. The long-term and short-term effects are mainly guesses but there have been no fatalities caused purely by marijuana.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that tobacco is the single greatest cause of preventable death globally. While the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA), conducted a multi-centre study which demonstrated that 78,9% of all patients at trauma units, with violent injuries tested positive for alcohol. Of all homicides, more than 50% were alcohol-related.
Both cigarettes and alcohol are legal.
The problem with marijuana is that parents are blinded by the fact that their young kids could be exposed to the dangers of a drug.
It’s time to wake up and smell the smoke – kids have very easy access to the drug right now.
It would be easier to control and regulate if it was monitored in terms of quality, quantity sold and the black market would automatically shrink. Economically, there are many advantages in terms of taxation, regulation, undercutting the black market, putting fewer people in prison and reducing low level police corruption.
Black market dealers will run into bad business as they will no longer be able to charge the high prices and this will also remove the thrill which majority of the buyers seek when buying illegally.
The fear that once marijuana is legalised the 'indulgers' will then move to stronger drugs is also questionable. Not all 16-year-olds drink once they start smoking, and not all 18-year-olds seek a ‘stronger thrill’ once they are able to drink.
If someone uses marijuana for the thrill of it being illegal, the legalisation will eradicate this user. Conversely, if this user then looks for stronger drugs it also implies that this could have happened eventually if they were ever exposed stronger drugs before (because legality was never an issue).
If we move into the world of legalisation there are some practical concerns: What about people having to inhale the smoke, as this can also give you a high? This is quite simple, what about the smokers causing me to cough uncontrollably and quite frankly just ruining my meal with their smell – throw them in a tiny and ventilated room.
Smoking in public is frowned upon, due to the fact that people want to have a choice in being exposed to the effects of it. The same rules would have to apply to marijuana.
My list against marijuana used to be much longer but the legalisation won't necessarily make me become an advocate for marijuana.
How can I argue against legalisation of marijuana if I, like so many others including academics, do not actually know the negative effects?
After reading many articles, and yes they were academic and not some hippie’s journals, I found myself asking ‘why not?’ I am also not talking about only legalising it for medicinal purposes; I am saying legalise it for recreational use too.
I started researching my argument against the legalisation with the purpose to end the façade of legalising it for ‘medicinal purposes’. I have seen many young people smoking and they were suffering from nothing but being chilled.
I feel it would not be far-off to say that most people against it are approaching from the "I've never tried it" ignorant stance.
Please don’t get me wrong, I do not condone the illegal smoking of marijuana but it is important to gain all the facts before passing judgement.
The most obvious argument against the legalisation is that marijuana is a drug and can thus be classified as dangerous and unhealthy. Yet, this was the one point which fell apart as soon as I looked for the negative effects.
As it turns out, there has not been enough research done on the effects and dangers of marijuana because it is illegal to smoke it. The long-term and short-term effects are mainly guesses but there have been no fatalities caused purely by marijuana.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that tobacco is the single greatest cause of preventable death globally. While the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA), conducted a multi-centre study which demonstrated that 78,9% of all patients at trauma units, with violent injuries tested positive for alcohol. Of all homicides, more than 50% were alcohol-related.
Both cigarettes and alcohol are legal.
The problem with marijuana is that parents are blinded by the fact that their young kids could be exposed to the dangers of a drug.
It’s time to wake up and smell the smoke – kids have very easy access to the drug right now.
It would be easier to control and regulate if it was monitored in terms of quality, quantity sold and the black market would automatically shrink. Economically, there are many advantages in terms of taxation, regulation, undercutting the black market, putting fewer people in prison and reducing low level police corruption.
Black market dealers will run into bad business as they will no longer be able to charge the high prices and this will also remove the thrill which majority of the buyers seek when buying illegally.
The fear that once marijuana is legalised the 'indulgers' will then move to stronger drugs is also questionable. Not all 16-year-olds drink once they start smoking, and not all 18-year-olds seek a ‘stronger thrill’ once they are able to drink.
If someone uses marijuana for the thrill of it being illegal, the legalisation will eradicate this user. Conversely, if this user then looks for stronger drugs it also implies that this could have happened eventually if they were ever exposed stronger drugs before (because legality was never an issue).
If we move into the world of legalisation there are some practical concerns: What about people having to inhale the smoke, as this can also give you a high? This is quite simple, what about the smokers causing me to cough uncontrollably and quite frankly just ruining my meal with their smell – throw them in a tiny and ventilated room.
Smoking in public is frowned upon, due to the fact that people want to have a choice in being exposed to the effects of it. The same rules would have to apply to marijuana.
My list against marijuana used to be much longer but the legalisation won't necessarily make me become an advocate for marijuana.
How can I argue against legalisation of marijuana if I, like so many others including academics, do not actually know the negative effects?
Comments
Post a Comment