Should US Legalize Marijuana?

Guybrush · 02-24-2010, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

I have to admit I've been skimming this thread at best, but based on this post it sounds like you're missing half the equation here, Tore. What about the all the negative consequences of illegality on society? For one thing, as the US experienced during the 1920s, prohibition can lead directly to an increase in organized crime. It also, in the case of marijuana, has lead to a whole bunch of people people being thrown in jail, something which causes huge unpleasant ripples throughout society: children growing up without parents, minor offenders being turned into hardcore criminals by their prison experience, the resources of the police and courts being squandered when they could be focusing their attention on violent crime, prison overcrowding, etc.

That's a very good point and the only argument so far which makes me doubt illegality. So far, I've assumed that legalizing pot will lead to new kinds of crime. Taxation of marijuana would lead to a government versus black market situation against homegrowers and black marketeers selling tax-free. I also assume it would result in an expansion of the black market. Harder drugs and crimes relating to them could piggyback and use many of the same channels and that could happen regardless of whether or not taxation takes place. I've assumed that the amount of drug users would increase and that would greatly add to these problems. Add that I think legalization will support the drug cartels and a belief that marijuana is potentially bad for you and the weight shifted against legalization. A lot of these are assumptions and I don't know for sure if they are correct.

Last time I read about who gets jailtime because of marijuana, it was by far mostly people with more serious stuff on their criminal records and that most first-time offenders were sent home with a fine. If that's true, it takes a lot of relevance out of your argument. If most who get arrested are criminals, marijuana arrests may part reflect crime at a greater scale. However, reading pro-legalization sites, they try to convince you the opposite is taking place, that first time offenders and otherwise innocent people go to jail.

Because of conflicting information, it's hard from here to tell who really goes to jail for marijuana possession today - if it's people who's only crime is posession of marijuana or if those who go to jail are people with more on their records, such as traficking of harder drugs. I agree that sending otherwise innocent people in jail is extremely detrimental to society for the reasons you mention and if that really takes place, then that could change my no position into a maybe or perhaps even yes.

Let me add at the end, though, that if there's a problem with how the law is enforced, it might be possible to alter the law or alter the way it is enforced without removing it.