27. Gone to Pot.

There's a discussion going on at John's place one legalizing marijuana. I started to write a reply, but then realize that it was a post in itself.

I speak with a bit of authority on issues of criminal law and deviant behavior in society. I have a diploma in criminology hanging over the toilet in my bathroom. Really, that's where I keep it.

Its important to make the distinction between legalization and decriminalization. Legalization is the removal of all prohibitions regarding something presently illegal. Decriminalization is the removal of reduction of penalties associated with something illegal, while still regulating it. In my opinion, arguing this matter from a legalization stand point is black and white thinking (check the blog tag line); decriminalization is more nuanced and realistic.

Regarding taxation, the cost of production is super low, therefore a high tax rate would still keep the cost below its black market street value. Ya see, there's a reason its called weed. It grows anywhere and will do so abundantly. It grows faster than just about any other plant on the globe. Its infinitely renewable, because comparatively, it has a lower impact on the soil than do other plants and it can grow many seasons without needing a farrow time. All of its street value comes not from any intrinsic value of the plant, but from the cost of trafficking something on which the US has declared war.

Admittedly, most research on marijuana use is suspect, but the researchers know that (if you think otherwise, it is more of a problem with media poorly reporting on science; they don't know how). Cannabis plants are illegal within the United States (that's right, we didn't ban THC, we banned a plant), and thus it is impossible to do any controlled research with it. That leaves field study of a population that is, well, difficult to study. "Hey buddy, could I ask you a few questions about your illegal drug use? I'm not a cop, its for science!" See how far that gets ya.

Because its so useful and prolific, hemp can be used to make rope, clothing, paper, and there's probably a cheap way to make it into plastics or bio-fuel (which is a hell of a lot better than burning freakin' food in our engines).

As for a gateway drug, that's a myth. It may be the first illegal drug that many use, but what of the path that leads to the so-called "gateway"? Drug use is a symptom of greater societal problems. Get rid of marijuana people will sniff paint thinner. Get rid of paint thinner then they'll drink NyQuil. Get rid of NyQuil and they'll cut themselves for the endorphin rush. So on and so forth. It happens already. And because there's an entire criminal subculture that is tied to marijuana use, it becomes a gateway into other undesirable habits and away from normative values and behavior.

The main reason people abuse drugs is to self-medicate to alleviate whatever pain or suffering they can't otherwise figure out how to avoid within their environment/mind/body. Spend time (the key word being time) on finding and reducing the causes of pain and suffering and maybe we'll see some positive improvements in our world. Criminalization and heavy law enforcement is a quick fix approach and is ultimately limited when used alone.

If a water pipe breaks in my house, I don't grab a mop and start trying to clean up the mess, I find the source of the water and turn it off. Our current drug policies seem to want to get more bigger and better mops. Now, once the flow is stopped or slowed significantly, the mop needs to be used and kept around, but we can't spend our life and resources mopping like mad. That's just dumb.

The US is the only industrialized country that has criminalized the existence of this plant. Recreational use of marijuana is decriminalized in many countries, and has positively affected the crime rate. Harm reduction should be our watchwords. We've learned a lot of lessons with the criminalization/decriminalization/regulation of the alcohol and tobacco industries. We don't have to make those mistakes again. Granted, new challenges will arise, but I don't suspect any of them being worse, over time, than the problems we have now with our current policies.