3. HEAR SOME ARGUMENTS AGAINST LEGALIZING POT
"The government has an obligation to protect public health."
The Argument: Drug use causes serious problems in society: accidents, lost productivity on the job, and wrecked families. Legalizing marijuana will make things worse.
Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning it has no known medical uses and possession of any amount is illegal. That puts it in the same category as heroin, whereas cocaine and PCP are Schedule II drugs and may be prescribed by physicians. Smoking a joint is four times more carcinogenic than smoking a cigarette, it remains in the body for weeks at a time, and it is psychologically addicting. The marijuana available today is much more potent than the stuff hippies smoked in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Response: Of course the government classifies pot as a Schedule I, it has long waged a battle against it. Any list that considers pot worse than PCP needs revision. People do not chain smoke pot the way they smoke cigarettes. Once they've gotten high, they usually stop, so ultimately they inhale much less smoke than cigarette smokers. Among heroin, cocaine, nicotine, and caffeine, marijuana is by far the least addictive.
Following decriminalization of pot in California in the 1970s, use rose five percent. A moderate rise in use is a small price to pay to regain normalcy in the application of our drug laws.
"The 'Gateway' Thesis: Pot smokers are much more likely than non-users to graduate to harder drugs like cocaine and heroin."
The Argument: Nearly all heroin users were initially marijuana smokers. In 1988, a National Institute on Drug Abuse survey found that marijuana smokers are thirty times more likely to use cocaine than those who've never smoked it. Other research confirms a strong correlation between marijuana use and use of cocaine, heroin and the hallucinogens.
The Response: No one has proved a causal link between the two. You could also establish a correlation between espresso and a higher incidence of heroin use, but no one would say espresso leads inexorably to heroin addiction. (Those who've seen the patrons at the Berlin Wall cafe in Berkeley may argue otherwise).
Anyway, it should be expected that more people who smoke pot move to harder drugs than those who've never smoked it, for they have already proven themselves curious enough about drugs to try pot. However, in Jamaica, where per capita use is pretty high, no progression has been shown.
Heroin addicts are a breed apart from the millions of midnight tokers, and their overall consumption rate pales in comparison.
