By John Knetemann
There is only one major danger I can possibly think of from smoking marijuana. No, it isn’t that it will cause a gateway effect. No, it isn’t that it will make you lazy. And no, it isn’t that it is addictive. All these are lies and myths told about cannabis. The biggest, and pretty much only, danger for the average American that smokes marijuana is arrest, death, or injury due to the law. Jill Stein, a physician and Green Party Presidential Nominee, had a great saying that summed up this idea. She said that “marijuana is not illegal because it is dangerous. It is dangerous because it is illegal.”
This is absolutely true. Cannabis users constantly forget that marijuana can be really dangerous for your health and well-being. You could be shot, abducted, or injured by a police officer if you use marijuana. However, there are steps you can take to make sure these adverse effects do not occur to you during use. You could avoid smoking in front of police officers, and make sure you smoke in the deepest darkest corner of your basement. For the most part, you will be safe from police officers if you smoke smartly.
But now you, your company or organization, and family have to make a very important decision. What is more important in your life? Your actual health and safety or the law? I hope most of you will pick your health and safety. I bring this up because there are many institutions across the nation that pick the law over safety. Colleges and universities are a huge example of this. At universities across the nation there are policies that are much harsher on marijuana use than underage alcohol use. Dorms are raided for suspicion of marijuana, but alcohol violations result in a slap of the wrist. How sensible! Let us harshly punish students that are making a choice for a safer alternative, and do almost nothing to students that choose to use alcohol.
These kind of policies pull the curtain on the real nature of the Drug War, or at least exactly what it isn’t. Clearly the Drug War, and especially the prohibition of marijuana, has nothing to do with the well-being of our nation. Health is not even considered when it comes to the offices of our universities and the Drug Enforcement Agency. Domestic violence, which is extremely high with alcohol use and incredibly low with marijuana use, is something that our authorities have no regard for.
So when you go out to party this weekend, what will you have a higher regard for? Your personal well-being or the dictation of bureaucrats and law-makers?
