Good morning John it's April 20th. It's 4/20. Which I guess can only mean one thing, uh,
Blaze it? Look, I don't smoke pot.
I have, I don't really like it, and I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that cannabis is not
harmful in any way, and that it's gonna cure every disease or whatever. But I think it's ridiculous and
unjustifiable that marijuana is criminalized while more addictive and dangerous
substances like alcohol and tobacco are available at every gas station in the country. So here are seven reasons
why marijuana should be decriminalized and three reasons why it's more complicated than some people might make it out to be.
1. Legalizing marijuana is good for local economies. It increases tax revenue
and it can increase the amount of small businesses that are successful.
And I think that we should regulate both growers and sellers to make sure that those businesses aren't just giant conglomerates.
We should not let like a bunch of Richie Rich pants who spent decades
sending people to prison for selling marijuana suddenly get even richer selling it.
2. Illicit marijuana is a source of income for drug cartels that we could just take away instantaneously.
3. THC, CBD, other compounds in marijuana are legitimate medications.
They can help with autoimmune diseases, people with chronic pain, seizure disorders, vomiting in cancer patients.
And yet, US law defines marijuana as having no medical use. This is scientifically inaccurate.
4. Because it can sometimes help with chronic pain, it can help people who are dependant on opioids.
And that seems like a good thing to not put in the same category as heroin.
5. The most successful story, maybe in human history, of decreasing the use of an addictive substance is the story of cigarettes.
You can decrease use without criminalization.
6. The criminalization of marijuana creates real and obvious harm. Arrests, including juvenile arrests, have long-term impacts on people's lives,
convictions even more so, and felony convictions result in lifelong marginalization and disenfranchisement.
And this is why when young white people get found out for selling marijuana, they often don't get arrested, because everyone realizes that ruining someone's life for selling pot is dumb.
And what we see over and over again is similar rates of drug use among white and black people,
but far more black people getting arrested for it. And finally number 7:
I don't hear people talking about this one much. When we make something very illegal,
that is less dangerous than something that is perfectly legal,
I think that weakens the authority of the rule of law. People start to ask, like, if you're gonna ruin my life
for doing something that doesn't seem like a big deal to me, then maybe the legal system isn't out to protect me.
Maybe it is in fact out to harm me.
That's a big deal. The more people who feel that way about the law, the worse
society in total is. Now let's do the part where we admit that this isn't as simple as a lot of people like to make
It out to be. First reason why: driving while stoned is
dangerous and has been proven to be so. But there is no weed breathalyzer. So this is a problem.
It is also not a new problem, it's a problem we currently have. 2. In legalizing weed,
I think some people will think that that's like basically the government saying weed isn't bad for you.
But it is. Long term use of marijuana, especially by young people,
has been shown to have all kinds of negative effects. Most worrying ones being that it can increase the symptoms of depression,
and other mental health problems, and cannabis use is a risk factor for schizophrenia.
For more information check out this very good healthcare triage video. And finally number 3:
You can't just legalize it. Those are two nice little words, but it's complicated.
What do we do with people who are currently in prison? Who can sell it? How much? How is it taxed?
What commercial zones are dispensaries allowed to be in? Like, these things have to be figured out.
But the status quo, is a law that harms more than the drug, and I think that we're finally waking up to that.
John, I'll see you on Tuesday.
Hey, I hope that the comments aren't a disaster
And here are some videos that you can go watch if you would like to learn more on this topic.