Legalize marijuana now, or face the kind of chaos of the prohibition era in the US, says none other than The New York Times. The newspaper lays out concrete reasons why all-out legalization is the best move.
“There are no perfect answers to people’s legitimate concerns
about marijuana use,” the NYT wrote in a very
straightforward website editorial.
“But neither are there such answers about tobacco or alcohol,
and we believe that on every level — health effects, the impact
on society and law-and-order issues — the balance falls squarely
on the side of national legalization.”
The newspaper lashed out at the 40-year-old law, which
criminalized the plant, and which the Times believes to be
“racist, falling disproportionately on young black men,
running their lives and creating new generations of career
criminals.”
The Times believes that a relaxation in penalties and increased
research into the beneficial effects of the plant, as has been
happening in nearly three-quarters of states, could have been a
precursor for Washington to do something as it waited for the
results to come in. However, the board decided that this would
leave the federal law in the hands of whoever is in government at
the time.
And since, according to FBI statistics, over 650,000 arrests for
marijuana alone took place since 2012 – and this was just for
possession without intent to distribute – it was clear that the
drug’s rather gentle effects were costing the tax payer a lot
more than dangerous cocaine and heroin and their derivatives, for
which there were only 256,000 combined arrests.
According to the Times, the statistic also tell a story of racial
discrimination, which segments society and only leads to rising
crime levels as whole populations are cut off from other means of
existing within American society.
“There is honest debate among scientists about the health
effects of marijuana, but we believe that the evidence is
overwhelming that addiction and dependence are relatively minor
problems, especially compared with alcohol and tobacco. Moderate
use of marijuana does not appear to pose a risk for otherwise
healthy adults,” the Times continues.
And although there are noticeable and proven effects on the
psyche and health of younger adults, the paper writes, it should
not arouse the kind of dismissal that leaves society open to
ludicrous claims linking the plant with rape, murder and other
violence. However, prohibiting sales to adults under 21 would be
a smart move, according to the editors.
But overall, the effects of the regulation, manufacture, sale and
distribution of the drug by the state are viewed as highly
beneficial.
“We recognize that this Congress is as unlikely to take
action on marijuana as it has been on other big issues. But it is
long past time to repeal this version of Prohibition,” the
Times believes.
Source Article from http://rt.com/usa/175916-york-weed-marijuana-ban/
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