Pubdate: Fri, 09 Apr 2010
Source: Oklahoma Daily, The (U of Oklahoma, OK Edu)
Copyright: 2010 The Oklahoma Daily
Contact:  http://www.oudaily.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1371
Author: Jess Eddy
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

MARIJUANA LAWS OPPRESS US ALL

More than 847,000 individuals are arrested per year in America due to 
repressive marijuana laws.

It is puzzling to me that it is legal to purchase, distribute and 
consume alcohol and tobacco, yet marijuana remains a criminal 
substance. Roughly 50,000 people die from alcohol poisoning and 
400,000 due to health complications attributed to tobacco usage every 
single year.

Marijuana has yet to take a single life. According to the medical 
journal The Lancet, marijuana causes no harm to an individual's health.

In reality, "no acute lethal overdoses of cannabis are known," 
according to an article in British Medical Journal by M.D. Steven Sydney.

That begs the question: What reasons are there for prohibition of the 
consumption, cultivation, and distribution of marijuana?

If the reason is due to the intoxication one undergoes through the 
smoking or baking of marijuana -- the "high" -- we also must consider 
alcohol and tobacco, which are quite legal and also alter the 
consciousness of the consumer. This contradiction, coupled with the 
arbitrary punishments, should no longer be bearable for the American people.

As a modern society, founded in logic and reason, our public policies 
should reflect our views. According to NORML.org -- the National 
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws -- 25 million Americans 
admitted to having smoked marijuana. Those 25 million Americans 
represent a significant minority, and their concerns should be of 
concern to our government.

Throughout America's history, our predecessors have established our 
rights as citizens, and we -- the citizens of this country -- have 
been bound by necessity to fight for our freedoms. American society 
has maintained that we have a right to live under rational law that 
protects the self from the acts of others. And, we have made explicit 
our convictions that the rule of law has no jurisdiction in personal 
matters that don't affect others in an invasive manner. Therefore, 
the consumption of cannabis -- at no cost to anyone but yourself -- 
does not present a rational justification for a stringent set of laws 
and regulations that prohibit you from doing so.

To be clear, decriminalization would simply allow people to cultivate 
and possess small amounts of marijuana. We aren't talking about 
legalizing the drug trade. Drug dealers won't be free to roam the 
streets anymore than they are today. We are talking about a small 
step in the right direction. We are talking about progress.

Although the question of whether or not marijuana should be 
decriminalized appears to revolve around the argument of whether or 
not marijuana is harmful, this is not the question that lies at the 
core of this issue. The discussion of whether or not marijuana should 
be decriminalized is more closely associated with whether or not an 
individual should have the right to choose whether or not they want 
to consume marijuana. You are not free to consume marijuana, and you 
should be, because the state does not have the right to do make that 
choice for you.

"Emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free 
our mind."   Bob Marley
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