Let’s Legalize Pot – But Not For the Reasons You Think
The subject of marijuana legalization is a hot-button issue. Most Americans who are against legalizing it will tout statistics, like these from Caron Addiction Treatment Center, on everything from impaired coordination to “disturbed thoughts” as a result of its use. It’s a gateway drug, so the conventional wisdom goes, and investigative reports like this one from norther California station KQED hint at the dark side of legal marijuana grow operations, linking it to sexual assault and worse. According to a 2015 poll by the Pew Research Center, 43% of those who oppose legalization do so because they believe pot “generally hurts society” and is bad for people.
Being anti-legalization, according to some, means that you’re more compassionate and focused on law and order. You care about the health and safety of the community, and want to see them succeed without falling prey to using substances.
The pro-legalization community, on the other hand, often doesn’t do itself any favors when trying to plead its case. For every well-researched article on the potential benefits of marijuana in medical research, such as the data released by iMarijuana.com, there are far more websites and forums in which ‘stoners’ describe stupid things they’ve done while high, or other methods or materials they’ve tried to get high with. Most people have known the stereotypical ‘pothead’ as well, who never seems to have money for bills but always has money for weed, who can’t keep a job and seems to go through life in a hazed-over stupor.
Faced with this binary scenario, it’s no wonder that people fighting for legalization get painted as irresponsible people who lack work ethic or foresight, and people trying to keep pot illegal see themselves as the mature, productive members of society.
There’s just one problem. The effects of pot—negative or positive—have nothing to do with the legalization debate. Here’s why.
Give Me Liberty and All of That Stuff
A lot of folks like to talk about liberty, slapping memes on their social media and channeling their inner Patrick Henry. Liberty is a great thing, possibly even one of the best things; unfortunately, what people often characterize as liberty is actually no more than no-rules anarchy.
Liberty, as defined by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Isaac Tiffany in 1819, is “unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others.” In modern English, that translates to “I can do what I want as long as what I’m doing doesn’t hurt or violate anyone else’s rights.”
Black’s Law Dictionary, a well-respected authority in the legal world, defines liberty as “Freedom; exemption from extraneous control. The power of the will, in its moral freedom, to follow the dictates of its unrestricted choice, and to direct the external acts of the individual without restraint, coercion, or control from other persons.”
Both sides of the issue like to use the same principle here. The pro- side uses this to bolster their position, arguing that someone who chooses to use marijuana is exercising their liberty – unobstructed action that isn’t violating anyone else or harming them. Game, set, match, right? Not quite.
The anti- side also uses this definition, because they point to children who are neglected by parents who buy pot instead of paying the light bill, or people who endanger others by being high at work while operating machinery, or even people who drive while under the influence of pot. All of those activities harm others, they argue, and are classic reasons why pot should remain illegal.
Take another look at those activities, however. The parent who bought pot instead of paying the bills – has any parent ever gambled their paycheck instead of paying the bills? What about the parent who buys beer? Or the one who buys clothes, makeup, or literally anything else besides paying the light bill? The problem in all of these scenarios isn’t the pot or the gambling, or the clothes – it’s the character and priorities of the parent in question. A parent who prioritizes marijuana over their child’s needs is no worse than a parent who takes from their grocery bill to get their nails done. They’re not bad parents because they use marijuana; they’re bad parents because they put their own desires above the needs of their child.
What about those who operate a motor vehicle or machinery while high? Currently it is standard procedure to do a drug and alcohol test after a workplace mishap involving injury because nearly every company in America holds it to be against policy to be high at work. According to the University of Washington, a 2001 analysis of post-incident drug tests showed that alcohol or drugs were present in up to 19% of all injured workers, so those laws and policies aren’t working out as hoped.
This brings us to another uncomfortable truth: It’s not the government’s job to save people from themselves, or protect them from the consequences of their choices. In fact, according to both definitions of liberty as seen above, that’s against the government’s purpose. In a society where everyone has the liberty to make their own decisions, everyone also feels the benefits or curses that come from those decisions.
Here’s the rub: No one likes taking on the consequences of a poor decision. Many humans want the freedom to make their own decisions, but they also want the safety net of knowing that someone will help them clean up their mess if things get dirty. They want to use marijuana but keep their job at the machinery plant. They want to use marijuana but get subsidies for food and rent. They want their cake and eat it too.
Meanwhile, the anti- lobby sees themselves as co-parenting with the government, coming in to save the world from those who make the decision to use marijuana. The problem is, that’s not government’s job.
If people choose to use marijuana, that’s their decision. It’s also their choice how, when, and where to use it. If they engage in activities that harm others, that’s when the government should step in and deal with that user, and those actions.
Preemptively punishing an entire community for the actions of those with poor character is not the way to go about things. Legalize pot, and let people accept the consequences of their decisions, whatever those may be. If it means they lose their jobs, destroy their own families, or end up losing custody of their own kids, that’s not marijuana’s fault. That’s the fault of the individual who chose to exercise liberty without also accepting the responsibility that comes with it. Those who choose to use pot while still holding down a job, putting their family first, and contributing to society in a positive way should be left alone.
Please don’t take anything you read here as medical or legal advice. If you need medical or legal advice, consult a doctor or lawyer. The articles and content that appear on this website have been written by different people and do not necessarily reflect the views of our organization.