On Thursday, while scanning this blog, I came across a very controversial post about Amendment 64, or the
legalization of marijuana in Colorado.
The author of this post argued that the Governor of Colorado went
against his morals to legalize marijuana, and that was “Dirty Hands”. Her
opinion is that nothing good comes out of this law “Legalizing
marijuana, going against your morals, and no good coming out of it…. I believe
Amendment 64/Gov. Hickenlooper brought dirty hands to a whole new level.” When I read the last statement, I was outraged
that someone could be so blinded. I immediately felt the need to comment on the
post and disagree with the author. Now I feel the need to write this post so
people know the facts.
The people of Colorado and Washington went against some of their morals,
and legalized a so-called “drug” for the benefit of the people, or for the
greater good. That depicts the concept of dirty hands. The fact that the author
of this post fails to realize that there are so many positives in the
legalization of the drug is astounding. The passing of amendment 64 does a lot
of good.
Lets start with the benefits to the government. Colorado can tax
marijuana at a high rate, and gain millions of dollars for the state
department. Estimates in Colorado put it
at $5-$25 million a year. In a bad economy, any money going into the
government is good.
Legalizing also frees up room in prisons, and saves millions of dollars
in legal fees. Both the governments of Colorado and Washington have started to drop hundreds of marijuana possession cases the last month. That saves the
government money it doesn’t have to pay for trials and the cost of putting
citizens in jail. Over four decades, putting people in jail for marijuana
related crimes cost the government $1.7 Trillion dollars. Astounding.
There is also a medical reason for legalization. Marijuana definitely
helps people deal with chronic pain and depression. Because of the relaxing
nature of the drug, cancer patients frequently use the drug to keep them at
ease during chemotherapy. Talk to someone who has chronic pain. They would tell
you that marijuana improves their quality of life. Sandra, a medical marijuana
patient explains her struggles below:
Sandra's story speaks volumes, but there are thousands of people who suffer just like she does. Amendment 64 can help those people.
I recently saw a segment on the Rachel Maddow show comparing the prohibition of alcohol to what were experiencing currently with marijuana. Check it out below:
Now, I’m a self identified Republican, and not a fan of Maddow, but the
segment was eye opening. The most interesting part was when Maddow interviewed
Neill Franklin, a former Maryland state narcotics officer of 30 years. Franklin
talks from a former officers point of view, and tells a real life story about
the war on drugs.
In 2000, one of his former friends and colleagues went undercover for the
FBI, and was tasked with buying drugs from a drug dealer. The dealer decided he
wanted to keep the drugs and the money, and executed his friend.
He then goes on and talks about another story in Baltimore, where a neighbor
was working with police. The drug dealer wanted to protect his market and burned
their house down, killing the entire family. These two stories changed his view
on the whole issue. He says, “the drug war doesn’t work anymore” I would happen
to agree with him. The war on drugs needs to end. Bottom line. It costs too many lives and
too much money to keep marijuana off the streets, when the effects of the drug
aren’t serious.
Franklin then goes and talks about the benefits to the people. He says,
“police can get back to the business that they want to do.” The police can
focus their attention on more serious crimes like murder, robbery and domestic
violence. These violent crimes hurt our community. More attention on these
serious crimes is in the best interest of all citizens.
Finally, I find it funny that the people say that legalizing would
encourage kids to get involved. We are
in a society where alcohol use is common, and even encouraged in some
households. Countless commercials encourage using a substance that has killed
tons of people and destroyed families. Alcohol kills marijuana doesn’t. Yet
marijuana is illegal.
No offense to the author of “Dirty
Hands Just Got Dirter”, but her argument is fundamentally wrong. Saying that
“no good” comes out of legalizing marijuana is ridiculous. There are plenty of
benefits to the government and to the people. More money and safer streets
sounds good to me.
The citizens of Colorado and Washington have legalized a drug and may have went
against their morals, but they did it for the good of the community. That is
“dirty hands”.
This is extremely interesting point of view on the article of Dirty Hands because the debate is over two morals: the morals of legalizing marijuana or the morals of risking people’s lives through the drug war and the reality that we are clogging the judicial processes of this country. However, I am not one who buys the argument that this will end the war on drugs. It may decrease expenditure, but it can also increase the expenditure. There are still many other illegal drugs that are crossing our borders from abroad and that are being created within. This complicates things for the government. Now, we have to pay extra attention to which cartels are selling marijuana versus other drugs. There is no right answer. However, there is a reason marijuana is illegal, it is not a useless law. Realistically, this law doesn’t change much besides the ability to buy at stores. It is not allowed to be done in public, and now you can be pulled over and charged for driving under the influence. Ultimately, those who feel that this new amendment is life changing and that the world of green will skyrocket are, in my opinion, naïve.
ReplyDeleteThe true origin of the dirty hands in this situation is the fact that governments will sacrifice morality for extra revenue. I believe that the legalization for medical reasons is moral, but the legalization for the public good is simply to boost tax revenue and to decrease expenditure on the prisons. I am not saying that these are bad things per se, I would just agree with Lil Wayne when he says “the money is the motive.”
So those who view this amendment as life changing are naïve? What about the 18th amendment and the repeal of prohibition? It is practically the same thing. Public Intoxication is banned, no drinking and driving. Yet people, mostly men, held marches in protest, saying they wanted beer back in their lives. I don't know how you feel about alcohol in your college experience, but I know for a fact that many students at universities everywhere would be outraged to see Alcohol banned. And I'm sure they would do the same thing as done pre-FDR.
DeleteAnd paying extra attention on which cartels are selling marijuana versus other drugs? Most of the drug cartels are in Mexico, out of United States jurisdiction. Even without mentioning the fewer problems marijuana has than alcohol, it seems like Amendment 64 is an big win for the people of Colorado.
After watching the election with Romney and Obama I was not as much concerned about the president but all of the other laws that were voted upon. For example, new marijuana laws were put into effect in the states of Colorado and Massachusetts. I agree with Matthew that this was an example of dirty hands on a whole new level. How can the author of the article that you read show only one side of the story. The positives are not acknowledged at all.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that Colorado would be able to tax on marijuana which would be huge for the economy of the state. This is new information to me and I find it in intriguing that this was not thought of earlier. Who knew that marijuana could potentially reduce debt.
The legalization of marijuana not only helps the sick who have chronic pain but avoids the danger of drug deals. After watching the Showtime Series "Weeds" I learned about all the dangers and opinions people have on marijuana. I also find it funny that it took people this long that marijuana does not kill. Alcohol kills. Good does come out of the legalization of marijuana. Although it was once frowned upon and still is in some peoples minds the legalization of marijuana has its benefits. I think that the pros out way the cons