Allison Roberts, Staff writer
Preston Cosper, Contributing writer
Marijuana legalization has been a hot topic in the U.S. for years. Many states, excluding our own, have legalized its prescribed use for medical purposes, but not until recently has any state given the green light for its recreational use.
It could be that our country is now on the verge of reforming its laws that have for too long criminalized the use of the herb with more street names than any other.
In the recent national election, Colorado Amendment 64 and Washington Initiative 502 have completely legalized reefer, and included in the legislation are the beginnings of the process for regulation and taxation for retailers to obtain licenses and sell some bud from their stores.
We believe it would be wise for other states to quickly follow suit.
This last year, the Oklahoma Tax Commission received nearly $300 million from all tobacco-related sales and almost $36 million from alcohol-related sales.
This money is spent on different cancer research, education funds and tax returns for the state’s residents.
Smoking tobacco, which would be most closely related to ganja, is taxed at 80 percent factory price.
If herb was legalized and, more importantly, regulated, we could have another tax, and the state could throw some more dollars into education grants and scholarships.
So let’s start with the state law which dictates that a first offense of possession of some jolly green carries up to one year of incarceration.
Say 4,000 people are arrested each year for possession of puff. If you think this number is a little high (get it?), you would be wrong.
This is data is from the F.B.I. Crime Reports circa 1995. Actually, this number is probably quite low since, according to newsfeed.time.com, the U.N. reported Mary Jane was the most popular drug in the world back in 2010.
Those arrested for weed possession are sent to minimum security institutions, and according to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, it costs taxpayers $40.43 per day per person.
Ready for a total? It all adds up to a whopping grand total $59,027,800 per year. All for getting caught with a bowl of bobo bush.
A second offense requires a minimum of two years and reaches its maximum at 10 years.
So say an average student here at Southeastern begins class at the same time a second-offense toker goes to jail.
In four years, the student will spend $40,070.40 for higher education. The toker, on the other hand, will cost taxpayers $59,027.80 in the same four year stretch.
That cost difference is ridiculous. Our country should be less concerned with putting behind bars those who’ve been caught with Aunt Mary and be more focused on crippling drug cartels in any way we can.
However, since there is no need to get our troops further involved in concept wars, the best way to hurt the business of cartels, particularly in Mexico, is by taking away some of their business.
Though online sources such as Time, Washington Post and Yahoo! Finance each cite various speculations about what percentage of drug cartels’ income is made up of marijuana sales, the fact remains that it would hurt them some, even without a definite number value.
The more states that legalize it, the greater the impact would be, possibly eventually enough to decrease dangerous drug cartels’ presence in the U.S. It’s worth a shot.
Major drug cartels aren’t the only people society wouldn’t have to be troubled by anymore either.
If giggle smoke were to be legalized in all states, it is likely that pot dealers would be forced to become contributing, positive members of society rather than the common fear that more people would start living like dealers.
A large contributing factor to the negative image grass dealers have is that they are participating in an illegal activity and therefore have to live in the proverbial shadows, away from the eyes of law enforcement.
If what they are selling becomes legal and therefore sold at larger retail outlets for better prices, their positions would become permitted and subsequently defunct—because, honestly, who would choose to meet up with a shady dealer in a back alley to buy something they could go to any pharmacy or convenience store to purchase?
Further—for all the naysayers—why would a pharmacy or major retail store sell something with extremely high risks attached to it? Many would assume it probably wouldn’t and that Jane would therefore be excluded from many stores’ shelves.
However, when compared to tobacco studies, which have proven links between tobacco use and its secondhand smoke to multiple types of cancer, MJ research cited in online articles from The Huffington Post and ABC News shows that occasional use of the drug is low on long-term harmful effects.
With any substance that could adversely affect individual users or those around them, however, it’s always best to take precautions.
We just disagree that continuing to make weed illegal is the best precautionary route. In fact, we think criminalization of the drug does more harm than good to our society.
It should simply be treated as any other potentially habit-forming and slightly harmful substance (hello alcohol, tobacco and over-the-counter pain killers): regulated, taxed and limited by age.
Most importantly, people should be educated about it.
Opinion, November 15, 2012