Pubdate: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 Source: Florida Alligator Copyright: 1999 Campus Communications, Inc Contact: P.O. Box 14257, Gainesville, FL 32605-2257 Website: http://www.alligator.org/ Note: Benjamin Turocy is a physics sophomore. MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION IS GOOD Recently my stepfather was fired from his job at a Saturn dealership. I would not be upset by this if he was stealing from the company, slacking off or because of some other valid reason.But he was a model employee, a great father, and providing an income for his family. After nine years of loyal service, he was fired after he tested negative for drugs, but an additive was found in the sample. They say he was fired because of "Saturn's ethics." This from same company that allows mechanics to blatantly rip off customers. A couple of weeks ago, a mechanic replaced an entire sunroof for more than $1,800 when all he had to replace was an inexpensive switch. Saturn knows that this happens and does nothing. Should a man be fired just because he likes to come home and relax by smoking some marijuana? It does not affect his job at all. I'm not saying that all drugs should be legalized, because they should not. Both legal and illegal drugs kill. Alcohol and heroin kill people every day. Alcohol has almost taken my life twice. Now when was the last time you heard that someone has died from marijuana use? When was the last time innocent people were killed by a "high" driver? Never, because it does not happen. Weed does not kill. If you smoke too much, you just get tired, will probably fall asleep, and wake up feeling refreshed in the morning. There are no hangovers with marijuana. People in society today are too closed-minded. Are you really going to go crazy and become a criminal if you smoke marijuana? No, you will just be a little more relaxed and realize that all the negative stereotypes about weed are false. Alcohol makes some people violent and allows them to do and say things that they normally would not. The recent tragic deaths during the Tennessee game weekend are great examples. If you want to stop this nonsense, legalize marijuana. That weekend if everyone was high, those deaths more than likely would not have occurred. Marijuana doesn't make you violent and psychotic. Yes, it can be bad and make you extremely lazy if you smoke massive amounts daily. But would a normal person get drunk four or fives times a day? No, unless they are a raging alcoholic. Only a major pot head would smoke that much. Everything needs to be in moderation. I am just saying that everyone should try smoking marijuana a few times rather than going out and getting drunk every night. Try it at home first, you'll never be so entertained by your own television. Then maybe go see a movie high. But if you don't want to smoke, at least open your eyes and look at the facts. Check out www.norml.org. It has countless facts and statistics about marijuana. According to the Web site, there were 682,885 marijuana-related arrests last year. Eighty-eight percent of those were for possession only. There were 6,985 more arrests for marijuana offenses last year than for all violent crimes combined, including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. There are countless celebrities, athletes and government officials that we look up to, admire and respect, who have smoked and condone it. If you want a solution, here's one for you. Legalize marijuana. Marijuana is currently the fourth largest cash crop. Why not have the government grow it, tax it and sell it? There will then be extra billions of dollars generated that can be used for meaningful things such as schools, the homeless, welfare, Social Security, etc. There will also be an estimated $10 billion saved because police can then cut back on drug task forces. This would also eliminate most drug dealers. Some people still call weed a "gateway drug." This is far from the truth. You can say the same about alcohol and tobacco, although those are legal. Having weed illegal just makes an individual search underground on the black market for it, where one can then really be introduced to some serious drugs. Why not have it easily available like alcohol and tobacco? Recreational use of marijuana should not be a crime. As long as weed is smoked in moderation, it is harmless. Something has to be done here. I'm not sure yet how we can all make a change, but we all need to try. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake