The Legalizing Marijuana Debate

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Recently, the California elections proposed a controversial new law for the state to apply a new tax on cannabis, Proposition 19. Many reasons arise to contest this new proposition. Firstly, we currently do not have a sufficient system in place to prevent the dispersion of cannabis to minors. Secondly, drivers already have enough to be concerned about, such as drunk drivers and people using cell-phones, therefore we should not add marijuana as an additional influence for people to have open access to. Moreover, once we compromise by sanctioning a recognized drug, what is stopping us from eventually legalizing far more serious drugs, like cocaine and heroin? Say no to legalizing marijuana, and keep our country safe.

We can not possibly audit such broad distribution of marijuana. Nowadays, we have a difficulty time monitoring the sale of alcohol to minors, therefore we can not expect marijuana to be properly checked either. Showing us evidence of this claim, researchers Forster, McGovern, Wagenaar, Wolfson, Perry, and Anstine (1994) tell us, “youthful buyers were able to purchase beer without age identification….These results support the need for the greater attention to availability as a factor in teenage drinking” (p. 699-705). Another instance of apparent strains involving watching the masses we see is the movie theatres difficult time they have to control the people needing to follow the movie rating system. Presenting this issue to us, Giles (1994) writes, “Fourteen-year-old boys have their ways of sneaking into R-rated movies”, showing us this issue regarding theatres lack of capability to watch out for minors entering what they are not permitted to watch. Accordingly, we should not permit such a serious drug to be so easi...

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...ster, J.L, McGovern, P.G., Wagenaar, A.C., Wolfson, M., Perry, C.L., Anstine, P.S. (1994). The ability of young people to purchase alcohol without age identification in northeastern Minnesota. USA Addiction. 89: 699-705.

Giles, Jeff. November 10, 1997. Starship Troopers. Newsweek.

Horrey, William J., Wickens, Christopher D., Spring 2006. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. vol. 48 no. 1. pg. 196-205

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.) June 18, 1993. Mortality Trends and Leading Causes of Death Among Adolescents and Young Adults – United States, 1979-1988. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). 42(23);459-462

Kluger, Jeffrey, Szalavitz, Maia. November 22, 2010. The Science of Pot. Time Magazine. pg. 37

Gervais, C.H. 1980. The Rum runners A Prohibition Scrapbook. Thornhill: Firefly Books. pg. 10

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