Humanists of Washington |
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HOW Advocates Marijuana
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HOW advocates the removal of all penalties for the
private possession and responsible use of marijuana by adults,
cultivation for personal use, and the casual transfers of small amounts.
This decriminalization model would greatly reduce the harm caused by
marijuana prohibition by protecting millions of Americans from the
threat of prison.
It represents a cease fire in the war against marijuana smokers; smokers would no longer be breaking the law. HOW would also support the legalization model: development of a legal market for marijuana, where consumers could buy marijuana for personal use from a safe, legal source. The black market in marijuana, and the attendant problems of crime and violence associated with an uncontrolled and unregulated black market, could thus be eliminated, as was the case when alcohol prohibition was ended in 1933. As with alcohol consumption, marijuana use cannot be an excuse for misconduct or other bad behavior. Driving, or operating heavy equipment, while impaired from marijuana should be prohibited. Responsible smokers should also adhere to emerging tobacco smoking protocols in public and private settings. Current marijuana policy is a dismal and costly failure. It wastes untold billions of dollars in law enforcement resources and needlessly wrecks the lives and careers of millions of Americans. Yet marijuana remains the recreational drug of choice for countless citizens. This is an issue about which most members of Congress are simply out of touch with their constituents, who know the difference between marijuana and more dangerous drugs, and who oppose spending $25,000 a year to jail a marijuana smoker. In fact, if marijuana smoking were dangerous, we would certainly know it; a significant segment of our population currently smoke marijuana recreationally, and there would be epidemiological evidence of harm among real people. No such evidence exists, despite millions of people who have smoked marijuana for years. It’s time for lawmakers to let go of “Reefer Madness,” to end the crusade against marijuana and marijuana smokers, and to begin to deal with marijuana policy in a rational manner. It’s time to put to rest the myth that smoking marijuana is a fringe or deviant activity engaged in only by those on the margins of society. A national survey of voters conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) found that 32% — one third of the voting adults in the country — acknowledged having smoked marijuana at some time in their lives. Like most Americans, the vast majority of these millions of marijuana smokers are otherwise law-abiding citizens who work hard and contribute to their communities. They are indistinguishable from their non-smoking peers. They are not part of the crime problem and should not be treated like criminals. Arresting and jailing responsible marijuana smokers is a misapplication of the criminal sanction which undermines respect for the law in general. Marijuana penalties vary nationwide, but most levy a heavy financial and social impact for the hundreds of thousands of Americans arrested every year. Federal laws are particularly severe: possessing one marijuana cigarette or less is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 and one year in prison. In addition, under both state and federal law, mere investigation for a marijuana offense can result in the forfeiture of property, including cash, cars, boats, land, business equipment, and houses. The owner does not have to be found guilty or even formally charged with any crime for the seizure to occur; 80% of those whose property is seized are never charged with a crime. This is an outrageous miscarriage of “justice.” State and federal marijuana laws also have a disparate impact on ethnic minorities. While blacks and Hispanics make up only 20 percent of the marijuana smokers in the U.S., they comprised 58 percent of the marijuana offenders sentenced under federal law in 1995. State arrest and incarceration rates paint a similar portrait. In Illinois, 57 percent of those sent to prison for marijuana in 1995 were black or Hispanic. In California, 49 percent of those arrested for marijuana offenses in 1994 were black or Hispanic. And in New York state, 71 percent of those arrested for misdemeanor marijuana charges in 1995 were nonwhite. It is time to end marijuana prohibition and adopt policies that recognize a distinction between use and abuse and reflect the importance most Americans place on the right of the individual to be free from the overreaching power of government. It’s time for lawmakers to acknowledge what millions of us know to be true: there is nothing wrong with the responsible use of marijuana by adults and it should be of no interest or concern to the government. Most Americans would agree that the government has no business knowing what books we read, the subject of our telephone conversations, or how we conduct ourselves in the bedroom. Similarly, whether one smokes marijuana or drinks alcohol to relax is simply not an appropriate area of concern for the government. In the final analysis, this debate is only incidentally about marijuana. It is really about personal freedom. See Also: “Religious tradition is the passing down out of ignorance from one generation to the next. The fiction is repeated over and over through the generations and is accepted as truth handed down by a deity. The result is called ‘Truthifiction.’” Sol Abrams |
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