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The Great Debate

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS, DOCTORS, ACTIVISTS DEBATE LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA

This Is the First Story in a Series of Ongoing Articles Exploring Various Aspects of Illegal Drugs and Their Use in the United States. 

Marijuana has been a part of the American culture for most of the 20th century, although depending on your point of view, that may or may not be a good thing. 

For the first time in recent history, the public is having a mainstream and open debate about marijuana and possible changes in laws that constrict its use.  In New York, decriminalization of possession was recently embraced by lawmakers and a medical marijuana bill is currently on the table as well. 

As the nation progresses into the 21st century, there will likely be many changes to the laws we live by as well as public perceptions, but if marijuana was to be fully legalized, would it be a good thing?

The Gateway Theory

When a picture of Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps smoking a bong circulated on the Internet back in February, there was a divided outcry about marijuana use. 

On the one hand, some people were calling for him to make a public apology and to speak to children about the dangers of drug use.  But for others, the picture symbolized an idea that they have believed in all along-just because you smoke marijuana doesn't mean you are predisposed for any negative outcome in life, such as becoming a heroin addict, a crack head or a lazy, unemployed loser. 

There are a number of different ideas surrounding what is described as the gateway theory, which usually designates marijuana use as the precursor to more dangerous and risky behaviors. 

Marijuana itself has been called a gateway drug, because defenders of one of the schools of thought say that using it greatly increases the chances you will become a "hard drug" user later in life.  The primary hypothesis is that if someone tries marijuana and nothing horrible happens to them, they will be more likely to use LSD, cocaine or even heroin. 

This specific hypothesis has been debunked by the findings of numerous studies, including a 1999 report by the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine. 

About this gateway theory, the report concluded that "There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs."

Although many people who have addictions to hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine have reported that they have used marijuana at some point in their past, no science concludes that their current addictions, or even their propensity to try that drug in the first place, is specifically due to marijuana use. 

Another version of the gateway theory is more grounded in reality, and Chautauqua County Sheriff Joe Gerace said it makes sense to him. 

"There is a lot about marijuana we still don't understand and some science has shown that using it creates changes in the brain similar to those when using cocaine or heroin," Gerace said.  "But one of the problems I see is that using it can lower inhibitions and make someone more likely to try a harder drug, or engage in risky behaviors they would normally stay away from while they're on it."

What About Children & Adult Addiction?

Gerace said the fundamental problem with the idea of fully legalizing marijuana is that children would assume that because it is legal, it is alright to do and despite government regulation of the plant, the youth may be able to acquire it more easily. 

"Would there still be a black market for it if marijuana was legalized tomorrow? Absolutely," Gerace said.  "As a society, we don't do a very good job of keeping alcohol out of the hands of children and if we legalized marijuana, I think we'd have more children smoking it."

Scientific studies have suggested that smoking marijuana during the developmental years can create problems in the mind that manifest in the lives of teenagers. 

A study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse conducted at the University of Iowa College of Medicine found that people who used marijuana seven or more times a week for an extended period showed deficits in mathematical skills and verbal expression, as well as selective impairments in memory retrieval processes. 

The study also said other impairments observed in frequent marijuana users involve sensory and time perception and coordinated movement, suggesting use of the drug can adversely affect driving and sports performance.  Effects such as these may be especially problematic during teens' peak learning years, when their brains are still developing

But for responsible adults who choose to smoke marijuana in the privacy of their own home, and still get up to go to work and take care of their family each day, what is the harm?

Dan Bernath, the assistant director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington-based lobbying firm, said that children are primarily the focus of anti-legalization arguments. 

"The argument for keeping the drug laws pertaining to marijuana possesion is usually based on protecting the kids," Bernath said.  "But for the past 35 years, 80 percent of kids surveyed have said that it is already easy to get."

Bernath said that while teen smoking rates have declined, marijuana use is up overall, and he attributes that in part to the way we teach our children about marijuana. 

"It's fair to say that our marijuana education in America is laughable," he said.  "The same hysterical message has been repackaged over the years and the kids just don't buy it."

A search on YouTube for old anti-marijuana ads reveals this sort of approach where clips from the past 20 years highlight the use of fear and rhetoric rather than honesty and dialogue about marijuana in an attempt to scare children into staying away from it. 

Bernath did mention a study which Gerace had referenced, which concluded that among marijuana users, about 9 percent will develop a psychological addiction to getting high. 

"It seems to me that if there is a problem with about 9 percent of marijuana users, compared to around 15 percent of alcohol users, we should focus our attention on helping them and let those who can use marijuana responsibly do so," Bernath said.  "Just like with alcohol, there is a difference between responsible use and abuse, and it doesn't make sense to punish everyone because some people have problems using it responsibly."

Does the Punishment Fit the Crime?

According to a compiled release of the FBI's Uniform Crime report, in 2007, 47.4 percent of the 1,841,182 total drug-related arrests were for marijuana possesion.  Of those, 775,137 were for marijuana posession alone, while 97,583 were for trafficking and sales charges. 

By contrast, during the same year, there were 597,447 total violent crime arrests, which decreased from the year prior while marijuana arrests increased, as seems to be the trend while looking at the past 10 years of FBI-released data. 

According to a report released by the Federation of American Scientists in 1999, of the almost 700,000 marijuana arrests in 1997, 87 percent were for only possessing marijuana, rather than charges of selling or growing it, at an estimated cost to the taxpayers of 1.2 billion a year for incarceration alone. 

Jamestown Police Chief Rex Rater said he does not believe marijuana should be legalized, and he echoed Gerace's sentiments that as a state, possession has already been decriminalized several times. 

"We have already changed the laws so people who choose to smoke marijuana in the privacy of their own home are not made into criminals and I feel that is as far as we should go," Rater said.  "I object to the idea that marijuana should be legal and think that giving it our full stamp of approval is a bad idea."

While penalties for marijuana possession vary based on qunatity and from state to state, Bernath, and others who support reforming the country's approach to marijuana, say the time has come to take a different approach to marijuana use and end its prohibition. 

"Whether you support legalization or not most people agree that the way we as a country have tackled marijuana use is a failure," Bernath said.  "But for the past 20 years, the federal government has held the debate hostage, and now, at this point in our history, the tone is right for us as a society to discuss it."