District residents should vote to legalize marijuana on Nov. 4. Marijuana’s prohibition has gone on for too long, flying in the face of undeniable facts about the drug, and its impact on individuals and society overall.
Alcohol is far more dangerous than marijuana. An alcohol overdose can kill while marijuana overdoses are unheard of. Alcohol use contributes to reckless, aggressive and violent behavior, including drunk driving, domestic violence and rape. Marijuana intoxication, on the other hand, has been shown to reduce the likelihood of violence of the user. Alcohol can be classified definitively as an addictive substance. Marijuana cannot.
In short, alcoholism poses a multitude of serious problems to society. Marijuana, on the other hand, affects mainly smokers, with use promoting voracious appetites for snacks and nature documentaries.
Opponents of legalization will claim that, by legalizing marijuana, the District will be endorsing the drug’s use to children. We argue the opposite. When law codifies a harmful drug like alcohol as legal and marijuana as illegal, people who have tried both drugs lose respect for the law. A loss of respect for the law cultivates more illegal behavior and, potentially, more drug use among teens.
Initiative 71 only legalizes the drug; it does not provide a regulatory framework for the substance’s sale. We urge D.C. Council to work carefully on such a framework as it has for the District’s medical marijuana program. The Council should ensure that marijuana does not fall into the hands of children, that it’s potency be strictly regulated, that drivers can be tested for being high behind the wheel and that the District collect ample tax revenue on this vice. In Colorado, Governor John Hickenlooper was initially opposed to his state’s legalization of the drug. He changed his tune when a state report came out stating that legalization lowered use, especially among teenagers, and has diverted monies that would have gone to gangs towards state coffers.
We should follow Colorado’s example and legalize marijuana.
