According to this article at Alternet [1] (“The War on Pot: America’s $42 Billion Annual Boondoggle [2]“) we should “regulate marijuana just as we do beer, wine, and liquor.” Why? Consider the human toll:
The new FBI stats show an all-time record 829,627 marijuana arrests in 2006, 43,000 more than in 2005. That’s like arresting every man, woman and child in the state of North Dakota plus every man, woman, and child in Des Moines, Iowa on marijuana charges … every year. Arrests for marijuana possession — not sales or trafficking, just possession — totaled 738,916. By comparison, there were 611,523 arrests last year for all violent crimes combined.
If that amount of arrests doesn’t concern you, then consider the economic toll. The war on marijuana is costing the United States $42 billion per year. What could you do with that kind of money? You could hire “880,000 schoolteachers at the average U.S. teacher salary of $47,602 per year.”
Is the war on marijuana saving the lives or health of Americans? Far from it, according to honest medical information. [3]
I’m not advocating the use of marijuana (or any other mind-altering or mood-altering drug). I believe in natural highs, the type triggered by good health and an active intellect.
On the other hand, the “War on Drugs” is horribly counter-productive and it is devastating to the lives of good and decent Americans and their families. And because that “war” is a massive drain on the national economy, it hurts people like you.
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