Legalize it: New marijuana proposal furthers legislative debate
PEARL B. SHEETS
Issue date: 8/6/08 Section: Opinion
After announcing a proposal to end federal penalties for Americans in possession of fewer than 100 grams, last Wednesday, Representative Barney Frank D-Mass called for an end to the persecution of responsible marijuana users.
House Resolution 5843, the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008, proposed by Frank, is a bill which would support marijuana smokers possessing up to 100 grams of cannabis without being arrested, and would also allow the transportation of up to an ounce of marijuana without profit.
"I don't think it is the government's business to tell you how to spend your leisure time," Frank said. "There are some things I do, that other people don't do, and I want to be free to do them."
The proposal does not include anything about cultivating, importing or exporting marijuana, or selling it for profit.
While two of the top legal drugs in America, alcohol and tobacco, bring billions into the pockets of businesses and corporations, they come with a toll on society, filled with addiction, abuse and tax dollars spent on the funding for special government programs.
Americans are permitted to consume alcohol, and the government concentrates its law enforcement upon those who abuse alcohol or those who drive under the influence, Allen St. Pierre, spokesman for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws said.
"We do not arrest and jail responsible alcohol drinkers," he said.
Since 1965, there have been 20 million marijuana-related arrests, and 11 million since 1990, and every 38 seconds, a marijuana smoker is arrested, he said.
"I think the government makes more money off of putting people in jail and fining them for marijuana," Eric Bennits, 20, nursing major said. "I'm not a big pot-head, but I think it should be legalized. Everyone does it."
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the legalization of marijuana will come at the expense of children and public safety, will create dependency and treatment issues and open the door to the use of other drugs, impaired health, delinquent behavior and drugged drivers.
House Resolution 5843, the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008, proposed by Frank, is a bill which would support marijuana smokers possessing up to 100 grams of cannabis without being arrested, and would also allow the transportation of up to an ounce of marijuana without profit.
"I don't think it is the government's business to tell you how to spend your leisure time," Frank said. "There are some things I do, that other people don't do, and I want to be free to do them."
The proposal does not include anything about cultivating, importing or exporting marijuana, or selling it for profit.
While two of the top legal drugs in America, alcohol and tobacco, bring billions into the pockets of businesses and corporations, they come with a toll on society, filled with addiction, abuse and tax dollars spent on the funding for special government programs.
Americans are permitted to consume alcohol, and the government concentrates its law enforcement upon those who abuse alcohol or those who drive under the influence, Allen St. Pierre, spokesman for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws said.
"We do not arrest and jail responsible alcohol drinkers," he said.
Since 1965, there have been 20 million marijuana-related arrests, and 11 million since 1990, and every 38 seconds, a marijuana smoker is arrested, he said.
"I think the government makes more money off of putting people in jail and fining them for marijuana," Eric Bennits, 20, nursing major said. "I'm not a big pot-head, but I think it should be legalized. Everyone does it."
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the legalization of marijuana will come at the expense of children and public safety, will create dependency and treatment issues and open the door to the use of other drugs, impaired health, delinquent behavior and drugged drivers.
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