A new wave is moving across the country, and it is a movement that a decade or more ago would have seemed ridiculous. The movement for marijuana legalization has risen in the wake of the height of the War on Drugs as people are growing tired of the harsh penalties for infractions involving the THC filled plant. And while the arguments that proponents for the drug make are valid, I believe that it would be beneficial for the campaign to shift their focus to a different area.
A new wave is moving across the country, and it is a movement that a decade or more ago would have seemed ridiculous. The movement for marijuana legalization has risen in the wake of the height of the War on Drugs as people are growing tired of the harsh penalties for infractions involving the THC filled plant. And while the arguments that proponents for the drug make are valid, I believe that it would be beneficial for the campaign to shift their focus to a different area.
When looking at the effects that marijuana has on those who are users, it becomes more difficult to demonize it, especially when compared to the effects of alcohol. According to the CDC on average 30 people die every hour due to alcohol related collisions in the United States alone. In 2013 that added up to around 10,000 alcohol related deaths.
Many of the arguments that opponents of marijuana use to support their case revolves around high school students and the effect of drugs on them. They promote the idea that pot creates “stoner burnouts” who are destined to go no where in life. And while this may reign true to some extent, and I have personally seen the negative effects of marijuana on the people I know, I also see the opposite. I know many people who enjoy using marijuana but do it in moderation and still maintain a regular social life and are determined and successful students.
Similar to the Prohibition, America is slowly but surely realizing that the fight is futile and far too aggressive. But what antidrug activists don’t realize is that there is a much more noble drugs to fight against and to try to protect teens from. The problem? Some of them are in your medicine cabinet.
The drug trend I see that scares me is the rise of prescription drugs as well as synthetic drugs. The amount of young people I see using prescription drugs has only grown with every year, and even more recently, I have seen a very fast rise in the use of synthetics. These drugs can turn out to be very dangerous and even deadly in some cases.
It is very easy to overdose on either drug, as many users do not know how to properly dose to begin with. Also, synthetics such as Molly or MDMA are easy to lace and can have deadly consequences. These drugs can have negative long-term effects on users, and can be far worse than marijuana.
At the end of the day, people have to decide which battles are worthy of exhausting the energy to fight. In a time when people ideas and opinions are changing so drastically, I believe it is time to switch to a more noble fight, one that can save lives and do some real good.
