In order to effectively deal with a social problem, one must first begin with a clear understanding of the problem at hand. Often times this requires not only a frank discussion, but also the willingness to put aside long held beliefs based on “common sense” or anecdotal evidence in favor of empirical evidence. Take for example a familiar social problem whose eradication has mostly been sought through the imposition of criminal penalties: the drug problem.
Gut Reactions
Most people’s first reaction to the statement “marijuana should be legalized” is strong and instinctual: No, drugs are bad. This is understandable as the criminal justice system, school system, and nearly every other institution by which one is socialized have long been indoctrinating the public about the general evils of drugs, some of which are indisputable. Certainly drug use can and does result in harm not only towards the user but also towards his or her family, friends, and community. However, upon probing further for reasons why marijuana should not be legalized, many can’t get past the “It’s just wrong” mentality; when they do, they begin to cite “common sense” information that simply isn’t true: marijuana is an addictive gateway drug.
Marijuana Misinformation
Much of what the public knows, and what the government puts forward, about marijuana is simply incorrect. Not only is marijuana not physically addictive, but even its psychological addiction appears to be less than that of heroin, cocaine, nicotine, alcohol or caffeine. In addition, marijuana is less lethal than nearly every other drug: it is estimated that a user would need to smoke nearly 100 pounds of marijuana a minute for 15 minutes to produce a lethal overdose. The average lethal dose of acetaminophen, however, is 7.5 grams for an adult or 15 extra strength tablets.
Other harms attributed to marijuana use are also overstated and frequently go unquestioned despite the wide variety of credible sources refuting them. One of the earliest studies about the ill effects of marijuana was conducted in 1894 by the Indian Hemp Commission. They concluded that while some heavy users did develop bronchitis, moderate use appeared to produce no ill health effects, findings which have since been echoed by The Lancet, the leading British medical journal.
The reported links to violent behavior among marijuana users and the “gateway” status of the drug also appear to be invalid. In 1944, after extensive probing, the LaGuardia Commission, and many others since, found that marijuana is not a gateway drug whose use directly leads to the use of other harsher illicit drugs; marijuana use it not a major cause of other crimes; marijuana use is not addictive in the medical sense of the term; the publicity surrounding the ‘catastrophic effects’ of marijuana in NYC is unfounded. That same year the New York Academy of Medicine reported that marijuana does not produce “violent behavior, provoke insanity, lead to addiction or promote opiate use.”
Reactionary Drug Laws
Commissions appointed by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson also renounced claims that there was a direct link between marijuana use and violent crime and marijuana use and heroin use. President Nixon’s bipartisan 1972 National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse concluded that marijuana possession should be decriminalized under both federal and state law. In 1977, even the Drug Enforcement Agency noted that marijuana should be decriminalized. A mere three years later, however, marijuana somehow became the most urgent drug problem in the United States. In 1981 Congressman Newt Gingrich introduced a bill to legalize medical marijuana. Fifteen years later, as Speaker of the House, he sponsored legislation proposing a life sentence or the death penalty for anyone who brought more than two ounces of marijuana into the US.
So which is it? Is marijuana use a crime worthy of a life sentence or worthy of decriminalization? Is marijuana a highly addictive drug or merely psychologically addictive? Is marijuana a gateway drug whose use leads to a life of illicit drugs and violent crime? More importantly, if these two commonly held assertions are false, what else is?
Look for part 2 of this article in two weeks: Toward a Smart Drug Policy: Pt. 2—Informed and Balanced Laws
Leave your thoughts in the comments section.
Meridith Spencer is an adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice and Sociology at Bridgewater State College and Fisher College and an advocate for public policy that is “smart on crime.” She can be reached at meras28@gmail.com.
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When I dealt with a lot of youth, I did notice that marijuana seemed to fit in for them where alcohol did for the few generations before. And interestingly, the youth tended to smoke for many of the same reasons as adults; it was how they coped, emotionally.
When I dealt with youth who were going to be expelled or suspended from school for drug use, I would always ask a) have you ever tried quietting marijuana and b) what would have to change in your life to get you to stop smoking? Interestingly, I almost invariably got a “yes” to the first question and the answers to the second question tended to be things like “I want my dad back”, “My mom would have to stop drinking all the time”, “I’d have to stop feeling scared all the time.” A few disclosed histories of sexual abuse, some disclosed the more usual issues of the middle class youth like extraordinary pressure to perform.
Common thread? Seemed to be families that demonstrated relatively weak emotional health. This is just anecdote too, it’s just my experience, but maybe we have a very basic social problem, a family problem, underlying a lot of the drug use in youth at least.