People
have right to decide
Voters in Nevada will decide today whether
or not possession of three ounces or less
of marijuana is a crime. Question 9 would
de-criminalize marijuana for adults and
the state would help in the acquiring and
distribution of the drug.
A
recent Time/CNN poll said 34 percent of
people want pot completely legal, while
80 percent think medicinal marijuana should
be legal and 72 percent think the penalty
for possession should only be a fine, not
jail time.
Eight
states have voted to allow marijuana for
those who need it and many other states
have turned recreational use into something
law enforcement doesn't waste its time investigating.
Politicians
say what they think will get them in office.
Legalizing a controlled substance, no matter
how much pressure the public puts on an
elected official, will always be a touchy
subject. Just ask Nevada Governor Kenny
Guinn.
Guinn,
a Republican, hasn't said what he thinks
about Question 9. His answer, and rightfully
so, is he's going to let the people decide.
I don't know how Nevada defines what a Republican
is, but it sounds like they might be on
the right track.
California
voters decided pot is a useful tool in fighting
ailments, but the Drug Enforcement Agency
as recently as September busted the Santa
Cruz Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana
for distributing pot. Feds destroyed land
that was growing legal crops and forced
people in need to go back underground to
cure their woes.
Needless
to say, this upset a lot of people. Aren't
we a nation for the people, by the people?
If we the people vote on an issue, then
our version of democracy says that's the
way we chose to live our lives.
Our
government is far from flawless. Case in
point: Our previous presidential election.
The people said they wanted Al Gore as our
leader, but the rules we've established
gave it to Bush.
This
is not a pro or anti-pot opinion ? it's
about letting people do what they please.
I will do my best to make sure not a single
letter gets published in the On-line Forty-Niner
that talks about the harms of pot. I know,
you know, we all know. I'm not even going
to give my opinion on whether or not I think
pot is a good thing.
Many
of the rules we live by are justifiable.
Most of us can agree murder is a bad thing
and those who commit these crimes should
be punished. But other laws, let's say legalizing
pot for example, is not so cut and dry.
Laws
are made by people, and I've heard that
people can be wrong. Pot is not the worst
thing in the world and if people chose to
smoke it or eat it, then so be it.
Who
is the government to tell me or you or anyone
else what we can and can't do to our bodies?
Even the most conservative people should
be in favor of legalizing marijuana because
politicians making decisions for us is not
democracy.
Pot
could be legal, but that still doesn't mean
everyone would do it. All drugs should be
de-criminalized. The war on drugs is a losing
battle, but it doesn't have to be if our
leaders would just give it up. If PCP was
legal and sold at 7-11, I guarantee I would
never try it. In fact, cigarettes are legal
and I've never smoked one, and I never will.
Why? Because I know what I want in my body,
and PCP and cigarettes aren't it.
Some
people like to get high, so what? People
love drinking and that definitely has major
consequences. Adults -- and I highly, highly
stress that word -- should have the right
to do as they please, no matter how damaging
the effects are to their bodies. The more
I think about it, sky-diving is a lot more
dangerous than sitting on your couch and
smoking pot, but people do that all the
time. Our military even encourages it.
I
know pot can be harmful and when people
abuse anything they should get rehabilitated,
not thrown in jail. Perhaps legalizing pot
might be the worst thing this country could
ever do, but at least let the people decide
that on their own.
Ryan
Ritchie is a journalism major at Cal State
Long Beach.
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