Re: Enlighten Me.

I agree that the legalization or at least decriminalization of marijuana is a sound proposition. In my colleague’s post, Enlighten Me., this issue is discussed. It is estimated that the national U.S. government spends approximately $7.6 billion a year on the enforcement of marijuana laws. In a time of economic hardship, this money could easily be redistributed to a more noble cause. On a state level, Jeffrey A. Miron of MIT estimated that the state of Massachusetts would save approximately $120.6 million a year on police enforcement, court costs, and correction. Once again, our country has better things to do with this money, like perhaps providing proper health care to its citizens. The author of Enlighten Me. also addresses the fact that although most claim marijuana has adverse health effects, no unbiased research has been done to prove these claims. However, most “say no to drugs” sites list the harmful effects of marijuana similar to those as cigarettes or alcohol, both of which are legal. But as the author continues his discussion, the topic changes from the legalization of marijuana to the legalization of a wide array of drugs. It is with these opinions that I must disagree.

Yes, it is true, the decriminalization of a handful drugs in Portugal has decreased the number of street overdose deaths and the number of cases of HIV associated with drug use dropped drastically. However, no information has been provided about the amount of actual use of drugs, and whether or not the drug trade has improved due to the decriminalization. In fact, the drop in HIV cases simply suggests that clean needles should be provided, not that the drugs themselves need to be decriminalized. Therefore, I believe the decriminalization of drugs such as cocaine, LSD, and heroin would not only shock America into terror, but cause more problems than it solved. I think the decriminalization of drugs such as cocaine would encourage individuals to try the drug, just that once, because the stakes were no longer so high. The truth of the matter is, in 2004, cocaine was involved in over 380,000 emergency room visits. Heroin accounted for another 160,000 emergency room visits in the same year. And these were only the reported ones.

In conclusion, the decriminalization of marijuana would save the government billions of dollars a year. In turn, the legalization and taxation of marijuana would bring in billions of revenue dollars a year. In a study Jon Gettman, marijuana is the number one cash crop in the United States, with an average worth of $35.8 billion from 2003-2005. It tops not only soy beans, wheat, cotton, and other staple crops—but corn as well. However, I believe the decriminalization of other drugs such as cocaine would encourage casual drug use and new problems.