You Can’t Stop Progress: The Inevitability of Legalization

“You hear that, Mr. Anderson? That is the sound of inevitability.” – Agent Smith

A local newspaper from Holland, Michigan released an editorial urging residents (and the country as a whole) to ease off the gas on this push toward cannabis legalization.

On some level, I appreciate the point of view evinced by this editorial. Written from a clearly conservative perspective, I think it is nice to see a (somewhat) moderate approach from a group of people who almost invariably would have been staunch anti-pot activists a few years ago, before the modern legalization movement really kicked into high gear.

So, on that level, it is progress and I’ll choose to see the good found within. However, much of the rationale used by the author is still couched in disproven thinking and illustrates just how deep the spiny fingers of propaganda have penetrated into our cultural zeitgeist.

To quote the author:

“Arguments for legalization are often based on how marijuana compares with already legal substances… The wild “reefer madness” exaggerations of generations past discredited opponents of marijuana use, but the fact that pot is far less destructive than drugs like cocaine doesn’t mean it’s harmless. The impaired judgment and coordination that often come with marijuana use pose an obvious risk in driving, and chronic use is associated with paranoia and other mental illnesses.

Further, marijuana can be addictive. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 9 percent of users become addicted and, more importantly, the rate rises to 17 percent (one in six) among teen users. Questions about the effect on intelligence and other health conditions from long-term use remain to be settled — there’s a lot that’s just not known.”

The errors in this logic range from the overuse of qualifiers like “often” and “can” to down right repetition of false information. A strong link between cannabis use and mental illness has not been found. In fact, some evidence exists that the opposite is actually true. Would cannabis be used to help PTSD , anxiety and depression if it contributed to mental distress?

They conclude that paragraph with, “there’s a lot that’s just not known.” Maybe. But what is known is that cannabis is about a million times safer than alcohol or cigarettes, and until these naysayers take up the picket signs against booze and tobacco with as much fervor as they fight marijuana, I just can’t take them seriously.

The article continues:

“But even if we assume that marijuana is no worse than alcohol and that an occasional high isn’t harmful, we still ask: Is what America needs today another legal mind-altering substance? Another product that reduces mental acuity at work and school? As California Gov. Jerry Brown said in a recent interview: “The problem with anything, a certain amount is OK. But there is a tendency to go to extremes. And all of a sudden, if there’s advertising and legitimacy, how many people can get stoned and still have a great state or a great nation?” Legalizing marijuana will make it even easier for young people to obtain; sweet-tasting marijuana-laced cookies and brownies seem to be products tailor-made for adolescents. Wouldn’t it be ironic if just as American society was driving a harmful product like tobacco onto the fringes that we opened the front door to another product with potentially negative effects?”

I’ll play along. Tell you what, let’s make tobacco and alcohol illegal and make cannabis legal. If you’re truly concerned with Governor Brown’s sentimental question of, “how many people can get stoned and still have a great state or a great nation?” then I would like to ask, how much greater a nation/state would exist if we weren’t being slowly crushed by the medical/societal cost of treating tobacco and alcohol related problems? How many promising young minds has alcohol (either directly or indirectly) snatched from our populace?

My issue is not that there are people who don’t want legal weed, I understand that. My issue is that people want to keep weed locked up like it crawled right from Pandora’s box, but they are just silent as death on booze, tobacco and guns (any one of which by itself has contributed to more destruction on any single day than cannabis has since the dawn of existence).

And, for what I hope is the last time, legalizing weed does not make it easier for young people to get. This argument comes up far too often from the anti-cannabis sect and it’s just plain untrue information. Regulation is what keeps alcohol and tobacco (mostly) out of the hands of minors. Legalize and regulate cannabis and the same thing will happen.

They at least have the good sense to agree that prison for potheads is not the answer. Instead they suggest that a fine for cannabis use is a much better choice than incarceration or branding people as criminals.

“Perhaps Colorado and Washington will eventually tell us that society can legalize marijuana without any serious problems,” they conclude, “but it’s far too early to tell. Similarly, we need a lot more information on the long-term health effects of pot use. We shouldn’t get caught up in the rush to legalize when so many questions are unanswered. For now, our answer is no.”

The information they claim to need is out there and should effectively assuage their fears. But I think they just don’t want to legalize weed because they just don’t want to. And they are entitled to feel that way. I draw a line when a curmudgeonly, stubborn personal preference dictates how I live my life.

Thankfully, blessedly, there is more momentum gained everyday and I just do not believe the prohibitionists are going to win this time.