By Bruce Wilson on August 28, 1972
The fact that marijuana is considered illegal, causing social, mental and family problems in today’s society is known. The damaging effects of making marijuana illegal range from social paranoia to family runaways.
The biggest problem with marijuana is not individual harm, but social misunderstanding, which leaves us with a damaging law. The marijuana user does not suffer until after he is caught using the substance: then, he becomes segregated, labeled, and has much of his future altered in respect to jobs because of a criminal record.
We are not dealing with a harmful substance; what we are dealing with is a harmful law.
The marijuana laws are damaging to society. The efforts of police, courts, and rehabilitation centers when applied to one using marijuana diverts attention away from controlling and correcting serious crimes that are harmful to society, as well as wasting much money.
Court cases on marijuana have severe punishments where the offender does not have a chance to defined his rights; or in some cases, the courts dismiss the case after much time, money, and emotional pressure has been spent.
The inconsistency of the marijuana law damages the credibility of drug education programs and exposes the marijuana user to harmful drugs. The youth, noting the misunderstanding between the actual effects and the illegal effects, could rationalize that this same inconsistency could exist with such drugs as heroin. Then we would have a problem on our hands.
Since marijuana must presently be obtained on an underground level, the user is exposed to crime and harmful drugs. There are no quality standards on the marijuana sold now, so the user could be fooled with treated marijuana thus exposing the user to possible harmful drugs.
The millions of marijuana users have become alienated from our system of gout and society because the marijuana laws are hypocritical, discriminatory and unjust. These damaging effects on society point out a need to end the unjust and self-defeating laws, yet more damaging are the mental damages inflicted by this intolerable law.
By having marijuana illegal under false pretenses causes paranoia and distrust. No-knock laws, “narks” and informers build up much paranoia in the user causing him to be alienated and afraid. The inconsistency of the marijuana laws causes mental rebellions and distrust of advice given by authorities and parents.
The marijuana laws are alienating the user from society and, more importantly, from his family, thus causing a most harmful situation.
In the United States, we have always allowed for change and mistakes, such as mistakes during prohibition or over women’s rights. When confronted with mistakes in our laws, we have changed.
The time is now for change in our marijuana laws, change for the better. If the laws are not changed, then they will defeat their purpose and self-destruct, continuing much hatred, distrust, alienation, runaways, exposure to bad elements, and a loss of credibility on all levels of government and society. Those of you, who find themselves saying where can I go to or what can I do, start by writing your state legislatures and congressmen. Work in your own areas to educate the people.
Sincerely,
Bruce Wilson