I’ll never understand why whiskey is legal and weed isn’t.
I’ll never understand why whiskey is legal and weed isn’t.
I know what I’m like when I’m three sheets to the wind on whiskey: I’m a mean bully and I’m reckless and do things like oink at cops and hit my boyfriend and scream at my roommates and break televisions and sit on street corners in Jackson Ward and cry my eyes out at 4 am.
I steal and lie and wake up with strangers.
Whiskey is not my friend but he’s always there, sitting at the ABC store, ready for me when my day’s gone awry.
When I smoke too much weed, however, I’m like “eh it’s 11 and I don’t feel like going out so I’m gonna curl up with this bowl of Reese’s Puffs and watch David Attenborough documentaries. I’ll see you tomorrow. Zzzzzzzzzzz”
In comes the weed legalization debate. We’re a country divided. Sort of. Recent Gallup polls show the majority of the country (58 percent) supporting the legalization of weed; a whopping 67 percent of 18 – 29-year-olds support the effort and 45 percent of 65 + year-olds are for it, too.
Here in VA, we actually have one of the oldest medical-weed laws on the books, though that hasn’t stopped legislators from trying to take that from us – let alone the lack of legislation allowing shops to sell (or fill the prescription) for the federally condemned product.
That hasn’t stopped local activists like Jared B, medical marijuana user from Richmond City, who says he smokes to control his bi-polar disorder.
Jared came out to a recent pro-pot event at the VA General Assembly and said, before he smoked pot, he’d have to lock himself away because he couldn’t deal with the general population. His sister gave him his first doobie drag 15 years ago its been a different, happier story ever since. “You put me on pharmaceuticals, I went days on end without knowing what was going on… to find something with no side effects… is nothing less than a godsend. I will continue to smoke regardless of what the government says because i know it works.”
So what’s the deal? Why isn’t our fuzzy green homie livin’ free in the Old Dominion?
Turns out, legalizing weed may have some drawbacks:
If Virginia were to legalize the substance, more people would use it.
A 2010 RAND study predicted increased consumption of marijuana upon legalization in the state of California. The rationale behind the study is this: legalization will not only reduce penalties, but will lower production and distribution costs, as well, and prices could fall. Lower costs and no penalties = less risk = more people will be inclined to partake in the activity.
If Virginia were to legalize the substance, the younger generation will grow up thinking marijuana isn’t a dangerous drug.
Weed’s not exactly good for you. Putting smoke into your lungs isn’t good for your lungs. It also impedes brain development. Early last year, a New Zealand study concluded that long-term and persistent marijuana use lowers IQ. Many studies show a direct link between weed smokin’ and the development of mental illnesses. Let’s be real, weed makes a lot of people anxious, paranoid and awkward. Social interactions aren’t the easiest for stoners.
It’s a gateway drug
As a weed smoker, I somewhat agree with this sentiment. I started smoking marijuana when I was in eighth grade. The sensation I got – and the culture that came along with it – led me to try LSD, ecstasy, mushrooms and cocaine all before entering college. And according to a Yale University study, children who smoke weed and drink alcohol are more likely to abuse prescription opioids later in life.
While these arguments are all fine and dandy, the fact of the matter remains that weed’s around and it’s easy to get and a bunch of people from all walks of life smoke it. Which brings us to why weed should be legalized.
The current laws don’t work
They really do nothing to prevent adults or children from getting weed. If a person wants marijuana in this country – and has cash – he can get it at his leisure. Also, if marijuana sale was regulated similarly to alcohol and tobacco, the distribution to children could be drastically reduced.
Not all weed smokers are lowlife couch potato losers
I know plenty of smart, upstanding, hardworking stoners. And I mean stoners. I know scientists. I know computer engineers. I know writers and artists and accountants who all smoke weed. And some of them smoke a shit ton of weed. Part of the problem with marijuana laws in this country is the way in which the older generation views weed-smoking. I was talking to my coworker the other day about the Super Bowl and mentioned something about how it was the “hippie bowl.”
He looked at me and said, “No no! Not the Hippie Bowl! Hippies haven’t co-opted marijuana. Cool people can smoke it, too.” Cool people smoke it. Wack people smoke it. Old people, smart people, dumb people, weird people, totally regular straight-laced people, black people, white people, Asian people smoke weed. It’s no longer something that can be associated with one particular type of lifestyle.
More weed smoking could mean less alcohol drinking.
Heavy drinking can lead to heart damage, nerve damage, liver damage, brain damage, as well as horribly embarrassing actions. And weed smoking can prevent all that! According to a study in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, the legalization of weed in Colorado and Seattle will lead to increased marijuana consumption and decreased alcohol consumption. And decreased alcohol consumption is not a bad thing at all anywhere. Period.
Economic reasons, BITCH
According to a report by economist Jeffrey A. Miron, legalizing weed could save almost 8 billion dollars a year in government spending. It could also generate over 6 billion dollars annually in revenue if taxed similarly to alcohol and tobacco.
CONCLUSION
We live in a time of weed smoking. Stoners, in general, are docile and gentle creatures. And, moreover, if over half the population thinks legalizing weed is a good idea, we should just do it. Hell, the president (and his quickly graying hair) can’t even justify the drug’s ridiculous classification as a Schedule I substance.
Looks like it’ll be a joint decision and it’s only a stone’s throw away. Har har har.
