By Richard Garibay
Assistant Opinions Editor
After the fairly recent legalization of recreational marijuana in Washington and Colorado I’ve noticed a new surge of enthusiasm for the substance and I have to say I’m pretty annoyed with it. I hate this booming weed culture not because I’m not a fan of marijuana but because most of the people in the movement treat the plant as if it were the lord and savior Jesus Christ reincarnate. Tell any barefoot, beard growing, rent dodging pot lover that marijuana is bad and they’ll go off the wall with reasons why it should be legal.
One of the more popular arguments is that it’s much safer than alcohol and cigarettes. I agree completely that it is, however, don’t sit there and tell me that just because it is it’ll cure cancer, make Steven Hawking win an Olympic gold in the 100 meter dash, and file your taxes on Sunday. Realize that marijuana has negative effects also.
In fact, an article published on the National Institute of Health’s website says that, “The current state of science on the adverse health effects of marijuana use links the drug to several significant adverse effects including addiction, a review reports. The article, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, is authored by scientists from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health.”
Marijuana is indeed addictive which is a negative effect contrary to what many pot enthusiasts would have you believe. Many of these people claim that they can quit anytime they’d like, which sounds like other addicts (cough heroin cough).
Further negative effects have been explored by the University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute who say, “A 2011 systematic review of the research concluded that long-term marijuana smoking is associated with an increased risk of some respiratory problems, including an increase in cough, sputum production, airway inflammation and wheeze- similar to that of tobacco smoking (Howden and Naughton, 2011).”
Just because marijuana is safer than alcohol and tobacco does not mean it is “safe”. I don’t care what out of context statistic over a picture of a marijuana leaf Tommy Chong shared on Facebook, it is unhealthy.
What angers me the most are the ridiculous claims that many people will make in order to further the pot cause. According to FDA.gov, “The FDA [Federal Drug and Food Administration] has not approved marijuana for any indication… The FDA’s drug approval process requires that clinical trials be conducted in a way that provide the agency with the necessary scientific data upon which the FDA can make its approval decisions. Without this review the FDA cannot determine whether a drug product is safe and effective.”
So, just because a single AIDS or cancer patient in one hundred smokes marijuana and makes a bit of progress does not mean that it is the cure all for every disease in the existence.
If you want marijuana legalized, that’s fine but do not insult my intelligence and say it’s the greatest thing ever. If I tell a smoker that tobacco is bad they don’t give a damn, they don’t try to argue uphill. They accept this and go on not worrying about what I think of them and their habits. Be that way, pot smokers. Accept that it is bad for you and say, “I don’t care what you think, many people want to smoke pot legally whether it’s good or bad so we should make it legal.”
