(Originally appeared in Mutant Renegade Zine 12, Fall 1998)
Each time I tried to think of something to say about getting drunk all I could think about way marijuana. Actually all I could think about was the absurdity of the legality of alcohol and the illegality (is this a word?) of marijuana.
Now don't get me wrong I am not calling for a return to prohibition. Instead I am calling for the legalization of marijuana. What makes me an odd spokesman for legalization is the fact that I have never smoked the "evil weed" and I have no plans to do so. However, I do drink and have observed my friends smoking marijuana and frankly I can honestly say that my friends who smoke are no worse high then me when I am drinking heavily / dunk…in fact I am more of an ass.
Maybe it is just the libertarian in me, but I feel that if alcohol and tobacco can be legalized then so to should marijuana be legalized. Marijuana is no more or less harmful then these two substances…abuse of anything is dangerous. But as far as I can tell from my limited research, marijuana is no more dangerous then alcohol or cigarettes. So why not legalize?
The worst argument against legalization I have heard is that if it was legal more people would use marijuana…it would be more plentiful. Excuse me? Cigars, cigarettes and beer are readily available to me and many other people. And I rarely drink, occasionally light up a stogie and no longer smoke cigarettes. And there are many other people who rarely or never use any of these items. Even though they are all perfectly legal. I have also had ample opportunities to illegally smoke weed and declined (Frankly because I think it smells like shit after you light it up…this is the same reason people avoid legal cigars). These facts show why this argument is pointless to the obscene. Sure if we legalize it some people will try marijuana…others will not…it's that simple.
The "best" argument I have heard against legalization is the potential health risks that marijuana may cause. However, this argument holds little water in the face of how many dangerous substances and potentially dangerous substances are legal. Alcohol, cigarettes and coffee are all legal and potentially dangerous…as well as potentially addictive, but no one calls for them to be outlawed and gets taken seriously…God help you if you piss off the caffeine addicts. Yet you cannot legalize weed? Since in most cases marijuana is no worse then these substances why not legalize?
Finally the silliest argument against legalization is that marijuana is a gateway drug. ONE: State lotteries are a gateway to great debt or "gambling addiction" and states still have them. And TWO: does anyone know anyone personally that this has happened to…I am not saying it does not happen, it just seems pretty rare. Rare enough to nullify this argument.
Now I am not saying legalize without some control. People who drive under the influence of marijuana should face penalties just like drunk drivers. Marijuana would have to be sold by licensed dealers (just like guns should be as well as tobacco). And perhaps like tobacco and alcohol there should be an age limit. I know these rules would be confining, but all in all they would be better than the current system of dealing with marijuana. Frankly I think the above rules would help us legalize marijuana. If we could get some farm states interested in growing marijuana and get a few beer and cigarette makers interested in selling it and bing, bang boom we have a lobby. And a lobby is a big step in legality. Finally let me state that I am only arguing to make marijuana legal. I still feel that some drugs are too dangerous to legalize …crack, cocaine and heroin for example. However, I would like to hear arguments to the contrary. All I am saying is if I can get drunk why can't others legally get high?