Lothar121

Some have this notion that marijuana is an extremely dangerous drug that causes many deaths and irks them to believe that marijuana should be illegal. These notions are misconceptions of reality. Furthermore, we should resist the act of prohibiting a commodity in popular demand as such acts cause unintended consequences. In fact, many would argue that it causes far more problems than the policy itself is meant to solve. Let's examine some reasons for legalizing marijuana and put the harm that marijuana poses to the user in context.

Part I: What distinguishes marijuana from tobacco? Is marijuana really so harmful?

I'm going to make a few seemingly crazy claims, but I will provide a solid study to support my claims. These claims do not mean that marijuana does not cause lung problems, just not the killers associated with tobacco smoking.

1) Marijuana does not appear to cause lung cancer
Study Finds No Cancer-Marijuana Connection - washingtonpost.com
This study is the largest, most well controlled study on lung cancer and no connection was found.

2) Marijuana does not appear to cause emphysema (but does cause other lung problems).
Long-Term Marijuana Use May Impair Lung Function - Forbes.com

3) In general, marijuana is less addictive than tobacco or alcohol.

"In summary, although few marijuana users develop dependence, some do. But they appear to be less likely to do so than users of other drugs (including alcohol and nicotine), and marijuana dependence appears to be less severe than dependence on other drugs." [p. 98]
Contents | Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base | Institute of Medicine

4) Marijuana does not cause overdose deaths.
"No acute lethal overdoses of cannabis are known, in contrast to several of its illegal (for example, cocaine) and legal (for example, alcohol, aspirin, acetaminophen) counterparts." (9/20/03) --British Medical Journal
bmj.com: BMJ - Helping doctors make better decisions

Part II: Marijuana prohibition does not solve the problems associated with the drug and in fact marijuana legalization would have many benefits.

1) It is currently easier for kids to purchase marijuana than alcohol according to CASA surveys. Regulating marijuana for adults would curb youth access to marijuana by carding young people that attempt to purchase the drug.

2) Marijuana would bring in 10-42 billion dollars in savings and government revenue every year that could be used for noble purposes rather than criminal ventures. Costs of Marijuana Prohibition: Economic Analysis
Marijuana's $42 Billion Question - Forbes.com

3) Marijuana legalization would free up law enforcement time that would normally be used to arrest an adult marijuana user.

4) Marijuana legalization would free up space in jails and prisons to make room for more violent offenders.

5) Marijuana legalization would increase the liberty that adult citizens have in our society. (for the libertarians and rights theorists!)

6) Marijuana legalization would separate marijuana from harder drugs thus reducing the exposure to other substances hampering the "gateway" effect.

7) Marijuana's potency, purity, and type could be regulated and labeled making it even safer.

8) Marijuana’s negative effects on mental health are often exaggerated. Smoking marijuana can raise your risk of developing a psychotic illness by up to 40 percent according to a recent 2007 Lancet study. Findings were consistent with a dose-response effect, with greater risk in people who used cannabis most frequently. That’s an increase from 1.0% to 1.40%. Problems with the study, including the idea of reverse causation can be found here:

denialism blog : Does Smoking Cannabis Cause Schizophrenia?

9) Marijuana usage is not necessary connected with how harsh a marijuana law is. For instance, after Nevada lowered its penalties for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana from jail time to a fine, teenage usage actually went down. While marijuana legalization may be a different beast, certainly our knowledge of lowering penalties in other countries and states has produced some evidence that the law is not the only factor involved in one’s decision to use marijuana (and may not be the largest). Moreover, an increase in marijuana usage after its legalization may partially be due to a substitution of marijuana for alcohol mitigating the negative effects of alcohol binging. Usage should not be the only criteria for deciding whether or not marijuana should be legalized. Abuse is negative, use is neutral. There are more implications from policy than simply usage that should be weighed when considering the best marijuana policy for society.

I added a bit from my original post, but sourced from here:
Libertyindex: Marijuana Regulation and Context of Marijuana's Effects

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