News » Responding to Crime in America and Their Accusations of “Distortion”





First, I apologize for confusing your comments about the LA Times piece written by former members of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (and quotation of that article, which is likely what lead to the confusion) in my original post. That was an oversight on my part, though a “call to” either office might have cleared that up, you should admit that your own representation of that piece could be easily misunderstood.

The rest of your rebuttal attempts to paint me as someone who uses distortion in order to promote the legalization of marijuana. First, I am not “CannaCentral.com.” I am a principal writer here, but I am not the website’s owner nor do I set the website’s policy. My opinion piece, which CannaCentral.com published, was a rebuttal of your own distorted view of “crime” and “law.”

Most of the studies to which you seemed to be referring which correlate crime and marijuana use are obviously biased studies. Mainly because the mere possession of marijuana in most of the U.S. is a “crime” so it becomes obvious that those who use it regularly are more likely to become “criminals” for doing so. Beyond that, though, the cartels which produce, move, and sell much of the marijuana in this country and that are responsible for most of the violence associated with it are doing so for one reason: prohibition means money to them. Remove the prohibition and their profit incentive goes with it. Just as it did with alcohol’s prohibition last century.

By any assessment, the two attempts at prohibition in this country have both failed to eradicate anything and both, in fact, gave rise to criminal cartels who made their riches through the prohibitions themselves.

As for my assertion that the difference between cannabis, religion, alcohol, et al is entirely in perception, you had no response. You also had no response for my contention that marijuana’s prohibition and the Drug War that it is involved with has worse consequences for this nation than does its legalization – even assuming your view that it will create numerous “societal ills” is correct.

Again, as I originally stated and to which you had no response, what was this nation built upon? What core values created what we call the United States of America? What are the core values that make up the American people? According to the founding documents of this nation, those values are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. They are the right to be a free people, to do as we wish so long as we bring no harm to others.

Once more, you cite “considerable evidence” supporting the idea that marijuana is harmful. Like anything around us, including Aspartame, sugar, chocolate, soda pop, alcohol, television, and thousands upon thousands of other things, marijuana can be harmful if overused. So do we outlaw everything that could possibly be harmful “for the collective good” (as you put it)? Do we create not just a War on (some) Drugs, but instead a full-on War on Everything and outlaw everything that could possibly “harm” us?

Do we just dump the idea of personal liberty and individual freedoms altogether and start up our own 1984-style world instead? Or do we decide to allow some personal responsibility into the mix and maybe begin reversing some of the Nanny State laws we have been collecting and begin letting people make up their own minds again and paying the consequences for their wrong actions?

So far, I have seen little argument from you over whether legalizing cannabis would reduce crime and eliminate most of the problems associated with marijuana’s role in the drug war. In fact, you partially agreed with that assessment by inference when you said you wanted possession legalized.

I am not a marijuana user myself, but I have used it in the past and I know many who use it regularly now or have in the past. I have yet to meet anyone who was anything more than annoying while high on pot. On the other hand, I have also met many who profit heartily from the prohibition of marijuana – people on both sides of the legal fence, mind you – and do so with criminal glee. I have also known people who have had their lives literally destroyed because they grew a plant in their closet, had a bag in their car, or just met up with the wrong dealer at the wrong time.

According to your assessment, those losses are worth it, though, because marijuana has some vague (and drug-war-tied) “societal ills” associated with it.

Yes, some people shouldn’t smoke pot. Some people might have a problem with its use. You know what? Some people have a problem with alcohol, some people can’t eat peanuts, and some people are diabetic and can’t eat candy bars. Most of them manage just fine by avoiding that which they’ve learned they can’t handle. Interestingly, of the list above, the only thing that’s never killed anyone directly is marijuana. The one thing the Crime in America staff can’t stand to see legalized.

So who’s distorting what, again?

[source CannaCentral]

Tags: crime, Crime in America, legalization