Sophomore Justin Guiffre, The Hatchet’s contributing opinions editor, discusses why the legalization of marijuana would have some unintended consequences for the world’s poor.
“One of the first things that would happen after legalization would be an explosion in production of marijuana. This would likely come from producers of other crops switching over to marijuana.”
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Although Guiffre’s article on Marijuana made some interesting points, it did not address the deadlier problems that would surround Marijuana legalization. According to a 1994 report in the New England Journal of Medicine titled “Testing Reckless Drivers for Cocaine and Marijuana,” 33 percent of drivers tested for drugs who were classified as reckless drivers but were not drunk were high on Marijuana. Could you imagine the effect of what would happen on our roads if marijuana use became acceptable and legal in this country? Could you imagine how many more high reckless drivers would get behind the wheel high and endanger their own and other people’s life if Marijuana became legal?
Additionally, although most major scientific research bodies agree that there is not enough research on the subject to make them happy, many have sponsored or published a myriad of reports showing how Marijuana smoking increases the risk for cancer, causes respiratory harm, and otherwise hurts individual health. In a country that is already dealing with a major health care crisis, why must we add yet another burden to our nations health system? Almost every major scientific study looking at the health aspect of smoked marijuana finds negative health issues associated with it. When we are trying to scale back Tobacco use for these exact reasons, why must we introduce another smoked carcinogen to the legal market?
Although I do appreciate finally seeing an article defending the criminalization of marijuana, I think that it would be better to focus on the truly deadly effects of marijuana decriminalization to get the message across that marijuana decriminalization is bad.
IF farmers switched over to growing weed the demand for Corn and Wheat would increase MAKING those crops more profitable to grow then they’d switch back.. Basic Supply and Demand. They don’t teach those econ principle’s in college anymore?
Not only that but Marijuana is more easily grown in doors AND is actually better grown inside. You can control the enviroment and produce marijuana quicker and more efficiently.
Lastly the fact that it has NO BUSINESS being illegal. That as a adult over 40 with full-time job, family, mortgage, car payments ETC., I am more then responsible enough to decide if I can smoke it. AND as long as college frat nerds are hazing students to death with alcohol harping on Marijuana with a “GRASPING AT STRAWS” type’s of arguments is a waste of time.
Did your teacher MAKE you take the “AGAINT” legalization side of a debate or something? What does Ethiopia have to do with legalized Marijuana in the US? The connection is so faint it may as well be invisable. There is no reason it should be legal. 6000 dead on our borders are directly attributed to the 400 billion the Mexican drug cartels make ANNUALLY!!!!! off of it.
You’re a smart kid at a good college. Start acting like it from now on.
Don’t forget the added benefit of being able to grow industrial hemp for its fibers and commercial potential as opposed to smoking it. Before the criminalization of marijuana and the ban on growing hemp AT ALL, hemp was a major US crop and can be used to make clothing, rope, food, and building materials
Feeding the poor. In history many people have survived famines by eating marijuana. The seeds have more nutrition than any other plant on the planet. More protein than meat.Lots survived till we stuck our nose in everybodys business. Erradicating an important food soure!
The poor are exactly the people negatively affected by the drug war and the war on pot.
A generation of young, poor males in this country is being tossed in prison because of harsh anti-pot laws.
When we start regulating what cash crops can be grown in what proportion, maybe this particular argument will have validity. But refusing legislation to marijuana on this basis is a precondition that no other crop has to deal with, should deal with, or will deal with, and its wrong to subject marijuana to this.
How about the fact that there are farmers in this country who are paid to NOT grow crops like corn and wheat in order to stabilize prices? They could either grow pot or start actually growing the crops they get paid not to grow in the event that not enough people were growing corn, etc.
Hemp seeds can be eaten, and they are pretty healthy for you. Problem solved.
There is a world wide surplus of 17% of food annually last I checked. It’s not that we don’t have enough food, it’s that the economy makes food more expensive in certain areas. Are you really that naive to think that THIS is the problem behind legalization? 20 million arrests out of 300 million americans since 1965? Is that ok? 7,000 deaths in Mexico and half of the business is from marijuana, and it’s only an issue because it’s PROHIBITED like alcohol was briefly in our history. The demand for marijuana has always been high, not so as alcohol, but high, and as such, the supply will remain high regardless of legal status. If you make food illegal, expect crime rates to reach 100%. DUH…. Marijuana kills 0, alcohol over 100,000 in a given year. All illegal drugs combined kill 15,000… Get the facts or shut up
Wow. This is an incredibly naive and juvenile article.
Maybe I’m cold and a bit callous, but I can’t justify waging a civil war on my own people (20,000,000 marijuana-related arrests to date) for the sake of feeding people from another country. No one wants to see starvation, but there are better ways to combat this – like providing birth control, condoms and sex education in general to 3rd world countries that are stuck in this whole Catholic “be fruitful and multiply” mindset. If you cant feed yourself, dont have more children! Seriously, the US welfare state is large enough without taking responsibility for the rest of world’s impoverished.
Not too long ago I recall the U.S was burning crops in order to artificially set prices.
Sorry buddy, fun read though :)
Justin,
It is apparent that you need to do more research on this issue. Your logic makes no sense. Oh, and I think you may be getting more attention than you would have hoped. Go check it out my friend… http://www.drugwarrant.com
The author might want to do a little research on drug crop eradication in Central and South America. Huge swaths of land, including land used for food production, are sprayed with powerful pesticides. The pesticides to not discriminate between drug crops and legitimate crops – it all gets killed.
By supporting drug prohibition, the author implicitly supports these actinos.
The author might also want to crusade against a real problem before insisting that unjust laws be maintained to protect against a unrealistic hypothetical that doesn’t mesh with the real world.
Maybe worry about GMO’s or that our waterways are full of prescription drugs.
When the Netherlands decided to tolerate marijuana, the country did not implode. In fact, it’s economy picked up! In a recent study, teens in the Netherlands had lower rates of alcohol and marijuana use than the USA… hmm, interesting.
Maybe our backwards drug policy isn’t working afterall.
Justin Guiffre needs to do some homework and try again. Or maybe he should just try a trip to Los Angeles.
Marijuana has been de facto legal in California for more than ten years. The medical marijuana law allows anyone to get a permit to grow, possess and use marijuana. All it costs is $100 and no adult who asks for a medical recommendation is refused.
There are hundreds of stores openly selling marijuana in Los Angeles alone. They have regular storefronts in strip malls. They advertise marijuana specials in the newspaper. (See Marijuana Business News for some examples ) Some have neon signs in the window.
They sell more than $1 billion of marijuana every year and they pay more than $100 million in sales taxes. Moreover, the well-run stores are seen as assets to their communities. The marijuana merchants have been responsible for the complete revitalization of a section of Oakland that was an urban wreck before the cannabis clubs moved in. It is now a delightful tourist area.
The City of Oakland is completely behind them and recently instituted a new special tax on the cannabis clubs. The interesting part is that the tax was suggested and promoted by the cannabis club owners themselves. They volunteered to pay more taxes.
How many people can Justin Guiffre name who have ever done that?
Here is the big news. Marijuana is openly on sale everywhere and the sky did not fall. None of the predicted calamities happened, not even the idle conjectures of Mr. Guiffre.
Teen marijuana use has actually dropped since the law was passed. Public support for the law has increased — to more than 80 percent — and recent polls show that almost sixty percent of the California public now supports complete legalization of marijuana on the same terms as alcohol.
Mr. Guiffre can dream up whatever crazy reasons he wants but they don’t have anything to do with business reality. In truth, the business is looking a lot like the wine or specialty beer industry in California. The inside of good marijuana stores are a lot like a good wine store, except with weed, not wine.
As for people rushing into the market, let’s hope they do. The situation in California is allowing good, honest, tax-paying business people to take over the trade, rather than the vicious thugs in Mexico.
As for the idea that there would be an explosion in the production of marijuana — oh, please. The good stuff sells for more money than gold. Do you think people don’t know that now?
Justin needs to do some homework and try again. More on that in a moment.
Required reading on the subject.
Short History of the marijuana laws
This is quite funny and suprising. Everyone here needs to read it.
One doctor testified in court, under oath, that marijuana would make your fangs grow six inches long and drip with blood. He also said that, when he tried it, it turned him into a bat.
This wasn’t just any doctor, either. This was the guy who served as US Official Expert on marijuana for 25 years.
Marijuana prohibition was absolute lunacy, passed by lunatics, from Day One. It is clear that the members of Congress who voted on the bill didn’t even know what marijuana was, and the bill’s supporters lied to get it passed.
Every major study of the marijuana laws in the last 100 years has said that the marijuana laws were based on ignorance and nonsense. They said that marijuana prohibition does more harm than good — no matter what you assume about the dangers of marijuana. You can find the full text of those reports under Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy in the Schaffer Library of Drug Policy
The law is the modern equivalent of burning witches. Before anyone supports marijuana prohibition they need to some serious reading. If you thought this law had anything to do with good sense, then you have been seriously bamboozled.
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