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Shall I Smoke Or Shall I Slam?
Alex Frey | Diamondback | 03/03/2006

The United States is currently wasting massive amounts of money fighting a corrupt and unjust war that is “rationalized” by exaggerated evidence, questionable intelligence and purposeful deception. And I'm not talking about Iraq.

The war on marijuana fills jails with harmless offenders. It diverts police resources from violent crimes and homeland security. It contributes to the deterioration of the inner city by artificially creating a market for gangs to exploit. But most of all, it directly contradicts the ideals of individual freedom and personal responsibility we as a country are desperately trying to project to the rest of the world.

To put the absurdity of marijuana restrictions into context, imagine I am considering two alternative uses of time: I could smoke pot or I could bang my head against the wall. Being a rational decision maker, I decide to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of each.

The benefits of smoking marijuana are fairly well-known. To many, smoking marijuana is simply an enjoyable way to spend time, akin to playing video games or poker. Other users speak of heightened sensual awareness, an increased appreciation of art and music, greater feelings of tenderness and a more finely tuned understanding of their own thoughts and emotions.

Despite what you may have “learned” in the state-sponsored brainwashing program known as D.A.R.E., the costs of smoking marijuana are not as clear. Much of the existing research is very biased one way or the other. All the same, many of the problems the Drug Enforcement Agency points to, including an “increase in heart rate,” “paranoia and hallucinations” and “interference with normal daily activities” are temporary effects associated with being under the influence. Not unlike the short term effects of alcohol, researchers have found all of these disappear within a few hours.

The main bias many have toward marijuana is the “Cheech and Chong” perception — it contributes to a lack of motivation. Yet this argument rests on causal links that wouldn't stand up in a third grade science fair. It might be true a large number of “slackers” are also “stoners,” but it is also true the majority of them drink milk. Marijuana is no more logical a cause of their apathy than calcium.

In fact, highly documented research conducted by two professors of sociology and pharmacology at the City University of New York indicates college students who use marijuana achieve the same grades as those who do not. Moreover, the study shows many users actually end up earning higher wages.

Only among high school students is marijuana use correlated with failure, and even here it is usually a symptom rather than a cause, the study said. Doubters may wonder about the danger of addiction, but scientifically marijuana causes less physical dependence than alcohol, coffee, or soda. So while the research is controversial, it seems fairly certain occasional marijuana use will have virtually no negative affect on my well-being.

By contrast, the scientific evidence indicating banging my head into the wall would be bad for me is pretty clear. I could lose brain cells, which would decrease my ability to function in our information-based economy. If I impact the wall hard enough, I could even crack my skull. Despite the obviously pernicious effects of head banging, there is no prohibition against it; everyone seems content in the knowledge my actions would only harm me.

Virtually everything we do in life involves a risk or tradeoff of one sort or another. The beauty of living in a free country is we have the power to choose which risks we accept and which ones we avoid. Many people use this freedom to engage in risky activities such as rock climbing or skydiving. Others may find these choices to be reckless, but they do not object to them because they can simply elect not to participate. Proponents of current drug laws speak not out of nobility, intelligence or civic-mindedness; their only defining characteristic is a dictatorial desire to forcefully impose their own choices on everyone else.

All of this just raises the question: Do politicians we put into office have the same ideals they campaign with?
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Alex Frey is a senior electrical engineering major. He can be reached at frey@umd.edu.

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Tokamak

BRAVO!!!! This is a BRILLIANT article. I've been thinking (and saying, when appropriate) exactly the same things said here. If only this piece were in wide circulation, instead of just a college paper...

Peace.

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"He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know."
- Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching