Women Campus | Hello beautiful!: The Marijuana Debate: Let's Check In & Other Fun Facts Part-3

Why should we care about the legalization debate?

As taxpayers, the War on Drugs directly affects us. One point to consider when discussing the legalization of marijuana is the amount of money we as taxpayers lose to keep these marijuana "criminals" in jail.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, taxpayers pay an estimated $1 billion annually to house the estimated 50,000 state and federal inmates serving time for marijuana and related offenses. That's straight out of our pockets!

On top of that, the U.S. federal government spent over $15 billion in 2010 on the War on Drugs, at a rate of about $500 per second, reported the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Political author Jim Hightower of "The Hightower Lowdown" argues, "By even the most conservative estimate, the outlay from us taxpayers now tops $10 billion a year in direct spending just to catch, prosecute, and incarcerate marijuana users and sellers, not counting such indirect costs as militarizing our border with Mexico in a hopeless effort to stop marijuana imports."

Bottom line: a lot of our money is going towards the War on Drugs and we should always remain informed and aware.

What's really important for college students, however, is to understand that if you're caught using or possessing marijuana you could lose your federal financial aid eligibility (due to the Higher Education Act Aid Elimination Penalty). And, of course, your future could be on the line due to a drug charge related to marijuana.

Where is the debate right now?

Marijuana has been successfully legalized for medicinal purposes in the following fifteen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, DC, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

Campaigns supporting the legalization of marijuana have been put on hold, it seems, although there is always more talk. The next time the nation will be seriously considering legalization will be when they vote in the 2012 Presidential Election.

We've seen the arguments for legalizing marijuana, but what are some negatives?

As for cons, there hasn't been much research proving marijuana to be a deadly drug. In fact, The National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse concluded, "A careful search of the literature and testimony of the nation's health officials has not revealed a single human fatality in the United States proven to have resulted solely from ingestion of marijuana."

Some refer to marijuana as a "gateway drug." This means that should someone become comfortable with smoking pot, what will keep them from turning to harder, more life-threatening substances? An anonymous surveyor commented, "I definitely disagree, but I'm sure you're more likely to try harder drugs if you smoke pot and enjoy it…But I think it has a lot more to do with the individual person and not the drug itself."

Taken from the Prop 19 website, Joseph McNamara, former San Jose Police Chief, advocates the legalization by stating, "Like an increasing number of law enforcers, I have learned that most bad things about marijuana—especially the violence made inevitable by an obscenely profitable black market—are caused by the prohibition, not by the plant."

When Cosner was asked to explain the negative affects she said, "It would be naïve to think that marijuana use would not increase a bit as soon as the change were made so that it would be legally available to adults over the age of 18. However, I believe that the relative harms of an increase in responsible use are worth the risk in order to eliminate the negative consequences of marijuana prohibition as they currently stand."

Did you know?

In 2009, approximately 17 million people or 7% of the U.S. population were considered current users by consuming marijuana at least once per month.
Former President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, among others, admit they have smoked marijuana.
Approximately 100 million Americans have tried marijuana at least once, and more than 25 million have smoked it in the last year.
Globally, the number of people who had used cannabis at least once in 2008 is estimated between 129 and 191 million, or 2.9% to 4.3% of the world population aged 15 to 64.
In 2003, Canada became the first country in the world to offer medical marijuana to pain-suffering patients.
In 1996, California became the first U.S. state to legally allow medical marijuana for patients with a valid doctor's recommendation.
In 1619, the first law in the American colonies regarding marijuana actually required farmers to grow the hemp plant. Once harvested, hemp was useful for clothing, sails, and rope.
Cannabis seeds were used as a food source in China as early as 6000 B.C.
About 40% of high school students in the U.S. report using marijuana at least once in their life, and 20% report using it regularly.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that from 2002 to 2009, the number of "current" (monthly) marijuana increased and grew by +11.7%.
With all these stats, which ones do you think are the most shocking? Do you think marijuana should be legal? Leave a comment!