My Life as a Marijuana Smoker

5:30AM....my alarm goes off. It's time to roll out of bed and head to the gym for an early morning workout. As the hour passes and my workout is over I head back home and get ready for school. At school I study hard in order to earn my above average grades. I look at the clock, 4:00PM.... time to get ready for work. I get dressed for work, where I waitress four times a week. After my shift, I head home dreaming of the comfort of my couch. As I step into the coziness of my own apartment, I feel exhausted, but I am proud of my productive day. 10:00PM.... I watch my favorite T.V. shows. 10:30PM.... I relieve the stress from my packed day with a smooth, calming bong hit of my medicinal marijuana and I call it a day.

It's not marijuana that keeps people from being productive, it's unproductive people who happen to smoke marijuana.

The War on Drugs

I'm sure I have mentioned before about how much I can not stand the war on drugs. It has failed. Karen Tandy, the administrator for the DEA, needs to wake up and realize the negative effects of the war on drugs. By making drugs illegal it is empowering and enriching criminals. Young teens, who want to buy drugs, go directly to dealers (who are not the most trustworthy people). If I was a parent I would not want my kids to be associated with drug dealers. I would rather the dealers not have the power of selling illegal substances but the government have the power, therefore it could be regulated.

This image is from the DEA's website. It is apart of a magazine they created that is targeted to teenagers in order to encourage them not to smoke marijuana. I don't think teenagers should smoke weed, I just think the way the government is going about informing teenagers is a joke and not believable.

First, they use images that are unrealistic and posed. For example, on the cover page of the magazine (which is called Stumble Weed) they show two teenage boys making a drug deal. These boys look sleazy and like your typical troublemaker. They are trying to show young teenagers that if you deal with marijuana you are sleazy and bad. I think it is bad for young teenagers to be dealing with marijuana, but I think it is around the "good" kids as well. If the creators of Stumble Weed made this more realistic they would get a better reaction from viewers.

I also think that showing kids the consequences of smoking weed as being unmotivated and lazy they are not convincing them not to smoke it. Marijuana is difficult to defend as being bad because it has little negative effects. Teenagers don't care about the effects it has on their bodies because they want to experiment. What they do care about is the different ways they can be punished by law enforcement if they do get caught. Because they are going to try things no matter what, teenagers are extremely curious.

My point here is to show what little deterant characteristics marijuana has. It has a little amount of negative effects and it isn't deadly. In high school, the drugs I was afraid of were the deadly ones like ecstasy and heroine, which kids also did anyway. I think the obvious characteristic of marijuana is that it is not that bad. The only negative aspect is the fact that it is illegal. Young teenagers are dealing with drug dealers when they want to smoke weed. It would be much safer if they had to deal with government controlled retailers if they wanted to smoke, which would make it more difficult to retrieve just like alcohol.

Marijuana Brain Scans

This video is about the effects that marijuana has on the brain (or at least that is what is says it is about). The only problem is that it only says a little bit about the effects of marijuana on the brain. It talks mostly about alcohol and methamphetamines and how these drugs have an extreme effect on the brain. The effects include the decrease in the amount of brain tissue which could result in mental and pyschiatric problems. The part that talks about marijuana's effect mentions that marijuana causes the brain tissue to decrease which leads to a decrease of memory and motivation.

Well, I want the right to lose my motivation and memory. How can it be the government's right to tell me that I shouldn't smoke marijuana because I can lose my motivation. That means they should just make fattening food illegal because it gives people diseases. They should make exercise illegal because one could get injured in action. They should make sex illegal because it spreads viruses and diseases. I think your probably getting my point that we should have the right to receive the consequences of our actions if we know the consequences. Everything can possibly harm individuals, but the government can't stop them from happening by making them illegal. I want the right to harm myself with marijuana, even though I feel it is pretty close to harmless.

California's Annual Marijuana Campaign

The following article is about the California's law enforcements effort to eradicate marijuana growth in the state. It was featured on the FresnoBee website.

California's annual campaign against marijuana growers destroyed nearly three million plants this year. That breaks the old record of about 1.7 million marijuana plants, which was set last year. California Attorney General Jerry Brown on Tuesday said state, federal and local law enforcement agents uncovered nearly 500 large pot farms on state and federal land this year. They also seized 41 guns and arrested 53 suspected growers as part of the annual Campaign Against Marijuana Planting. The top growing areas in California are Lake, Humboldt, Shasta, Mendocino and Tulare counties. Also on Tuesday, federal officials said they made 162 arrests and seized nearly one million plants in two recent marijuana crackdowns.

The reason why I wanted to show this article, which is opposing my stance, is to better understand why the amount eradicated by the government has increased and why I think it will keep increasing. I do not think that the government's efforts have become stronger in order for them to destroy three million plants this year. I believe the demand has grown stronger in the state of California. Therefore, supply is growing. Grower's are realizing the amount of demand that is available and are taking advantage of it. The government keeps thinking that they are slowly beating the war on marijuana because the numbers are rising, but because they are so ignorant they don't realize that there is more marijuana growth because there are more people wanting it. The war on marijuana will never prevail because it is a lost cause. If people want marijuana, they will get it. The only thing the government could do positively is to take advantage of the demand and make marijuana legal and tax it. They could be decreasing our debt, but they don't because they have a misconception about what marijuana is and how it effects the lives of people.

Putting it into Perspective

On the DEA's website there is an increased eradication section which shows the amount of marijuana they have eradicated from around the United States. The amount eradicated totaled to 5 million plants in 2005. I was thinking about this amount and noticing how much money the government could have made if they had taxed this amount of marijuana growth.

The average marijuana plant produces three pounds of marijuana which can be sold for $4,000 a pound. If the government used the tax they put on cigarettes, which is 39 cents per pack, on marijuana sales they would make at least $2,800 per pound. In relation to the 5 million plants the government eradicated, they could have made $42 billion. This is an insane amount of money that the government is passing on because of the politics of marijuana. There is such a stigma on marijuana smoking given by society that limits our government from profiting and decreasing our national debt.

Giuliani's View on Medical Marijuana

After I watched this video I felt like I could just scream at my computer. I am so disappointed with the answer Giuliani gave to the lady's question. She asked him why he believes that marijuana should not be legal for medical purposes (she didn't have her facts correct, but his answer is the problem). He responded with the fact that the FDA has not approved marijuana as a medicine and there are alternatives to marijuana. The fact that he acknowledged alternatives to marijuana is what bothers me the most. People (especially the FDA) are so convinced that prescription drugs are the right direction for our country. How could somebody say that a chemically made alternative is better than a natural plant that grows from the earth. If we went back 200 years ago and told people that one day certain plants will be illegal, they would look at us like we are out of our minds. It is so ridiculous to see how blatantly our government is pushing prescription drugs down our throats. Can't we just open our eyes to reality and notice that chemically altered pills should not be an alternative to marijuana.

Mendicino County

When I think about how I want our country to be in terms of marijuana legislation, I think about Mendocino County as an example. I have a friend who visits Mendocino County a couple times a year to go hunting and he is always telling me about the lenient marijuana laws he hears about when he goes there. This encouraged me to find out more about their marijuana laws. I was extremely happy to see their regulations in relation to marijuana. On the Mendocino County Sheriff's website they explain their rules and regulations for marijuana. In 1996 they passed the Compassionate Use act or Proposition 215 which allows patients and caregivers to possess and grow marijuana. They have a zip tie program which allow growers to cultivate up to 25 cannabis plants. They encourage their residents, in need of medical marijuana, to get a medical card to legalize their possession and cultivation of the plant.

Mendocino County represents the next step our country should take in the fight to legalize marijuana. Our country should not neglect people in need of marijuana but rather regulate their use of the plant as a medicine. Mendocino County shows how it can be done and how it can be regulated. I wish this was the way the whole state of California acted because we could represent the future of marijuana in our every day lives.

P.S. Check out the Mendocino County link to see Proposition 215 and how Mendocino County manages it.

The Lowest Priority Movement

I am so happy to hear that another city has joined the lowest priority movement on November 9,2007. The lowest priority movement is to make adult marijuana possession offenses the lowest law enforcement priority. In some cases the city allows up to an ounce of marijuana possession to be legal. Denver has just joined the movement. Other cities include Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood, California; Missoula, Montana; Eureka Springs, Arkansas; and Hailey, Idaho.

I feel like this action is bringing our nation closer and closer to complete legalization of marijuana, just like alcohol. To know that cities are fighting to decriminalize marijuana users lets me know that there is a fight to be won. The fight to legalize marijuana is not a lost cause because more and more people are realizing the sensibility of it.

High Times

As I was researching information about marijuana and the current events about the plant, I stumbled across the High Times Magazine website. I enjoy what High Times has to say and their contribution to the world of marijuana smokers. But I have mixed thoughts about the way they portray the plant and the people who smoke marijuana.

They have many advertisements that give marijuana a bad image. Certain ads include "how to pass any drug test" and "Find your Pot Partner". The reason why I think these ads give marijuana a bad name is the fact that they link marijuana smokers to being criminals and losers. It reminds me of the stereotype given to marijuana smokers as lazy, rebellious, and stupid.

As an advocate to legalize marijuana, I don't think this imagery and information that High Times provides helps the fight to legalize the plant. It probably reinforces the stereotype to people who aren't familiar with the people who smoke marijuana. This stereotype doesn't allow marijuana smokers to be taken seriously in the fight to legalize the plant.

pills vs. pot

According to the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an estimated 4.7 million Americans used prescription drugs nonmedically for the first time in 2002 -

2.5 million used pain relievers
1.2 million used tranquilizers
761,000 used stimulants
225,000 used sedatives

There are 3.1 million Americans who smoke marijuana. So compared to prescription drugs, there are 1.6 million more Americans who use prescription drugs recreationally than people who smoke marijuana. The question I want answered after discovering this information, is how something that is in some cases more dangerous than marijuana (prescription drugs) is available and legal for everybody? There are so many Americans who rely on prescription drugs to wake up in the morning, stay happy in the afternoon, and go to bed at night. There is an addiction to these pills that people aren't taking as seriously as they are the use of marijuana. This upsets me because marijuana is not nearly as dangerous as prescription drugs.
The funny thing about this argument is the fact that the people who are fighting against the use of marijuana are probably popping pills to escape the unhappiness of their own lives. It is so hypocritical and ridiculous.

The Stereotypes of Smoking Weed

Ever since I was young there has always been this stigma around marijuana smokers that label them as lazy and stupid. In movies they are depicted has dimwitted, silly people who can't really be taken seriously. But I have grown to find out that the people around me such as business owners, lawyers, and even teachers smoke weed or have smoked weed in their lives.
The point I am trying to make is that weed does not prevent people from doing what they set out to do. It might make people who smoke lazy when they are actually high, but it doesn't keep people lazy all their life. In anti-marijuana advertisements they depict smokers as never doing anything productive in their lives. I just recently saw one where the dog is talking to his owner telling her that she needs to stop smoking weed in order for their relationship to be strong. I think this is a complete over exaggeration because smoking weed doesn't keep you from doing your everyday activities, such as walking your dog. If you are a smart and together type of person smoking weed won't change that. Maybe if you are prone to being lazy and not finishing things you start, smoking weed might enhance those qualities. But all in all it is our choice whether or not we want to be lazy or productive, smoking weed is not going to effect that choice.

Ms. Tandy

I was just glancing through the DEA's website when I came across Karen P. Tandy's description and I started thinking about her involvement in the drug war. Ms. Tandy is the DEA Administrator who was appointed the position by President George W. Bush in 2003. In the first paragraph of her biography it shows the percentage of change that she has made in the fight against drugs. It states, "Under Ms. Tandy’s leadership, DEA investigations resulted in criminal charges against 87 percent of the most wanted drug trafficking leaders, an 82 percent increase in the number of dismantled priority drug trafficking organizations, and a 400 percent increase in the seizure of drug proceeds and related assets, with a record breaking $3.75 billion in seized drug assets and revenue denied to traffickers in a two year period from 2004-2006."
This tidbit of information made me think about why this number has increased so much. It is hard for me to believe that Ms. Tandy has made these percentages increase just by her inspirations. I don't think her involvement has helped the DEA seize $3.75 billion in drug assets and revenue denied. In my opinion, I think this number is so high because drug use itself has increased. The more people use drugs, the more the DEA has the ability and chance to catch them.
This is leads me to why I can't stand the drug war and the people behind the drug war, especially the woman leading it, Ms. Tandy. She is taking this number increase as a victory towards eliminating drug use. But in actuality this number increase is evidence of increased drug use. The drug war is a lost cause because people will always do drugs just like they will always drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. The only thing the drug war does is make people do illegal things to get what they want. Marijuana smokers are not bad people, but with the help of the DEA they are considered criminals. There are so many people surrounding us in our every day lives who smoke marijuana and they are definitely not criminals, they are good people.

The Marijuana Laws are Failing

For as long as I have been passionate about legalizing marijuana I have always heard the argument that the government will never legalize pot because they make too much money fining people for possesion. I have always been skeptical about that claim because it doesn't seem plausible that the government could be making that much money from pot growth. I read an article that was written almost a year ago that backs up my opinion and shows that the government can make more money legalizing it than they have been with the plant being illegal. It is an article on ABCnews.com written by Nitya Venkataraman called Marijuana Called Top U.S. Cash Crop. She explains how marjiuana was ranked as the top cash crop in the United States. The production of marijuana is valued at $38.5 billion which is higher than the combined value of corn ($23.3 billion) and wheat ($7.5 billion). I was thrilled to learn this because it means that more people are smoking weed than I thought. It means that the there is a solid reason why the government should legalize marijuana, to make money. Could you imagine how much money the government would make if they taxed marijuana? We all know that the greatest incentive for the government is money. A quote out of Venkataraman's article puts it into perspective for the government, "A 2005 analysis by Harvard visiting professor Jeffrey Miron estimates that if the United States legalized marijuana, the country would save $7.7 billion in law enforcement costs and could generated as much as $6.2 billion annually if marijuana were taxed like alcohol or tobacco." So to all the people who said marijuana will never be legal because the government makes too much money illegalizing it, you are wrong because marijuana, as the leading cash crop, can lead the government to greater amounts of money if they only legalize it.

Eric Schlosser's view on Marijuana

I have recently been researching Eric Schlosser, the man who has written such articles as Reefer Madness, Marijuana and the Law, and most popularly, Fast Food Nation. I am so impressed with his opinions and the facts he has about marijuana. I stumbled across an interview on the PBS website with Eric Schlosser. He is questioned mostly about marijuana laws and the criminalization of people associated with the drug. I love the way he answers the questions and how logical his answers are. For example the interviewer said that some people would argue that marijuana laws are effective because the price has gone up. Eric Schlosser's response makes so much sense and is so right on. He responed:
"In 1982, when President Reagan launched the war on marijuana, 88% of American high school seniors said it was easy for them to obtain marijuana. In 1994, 85% said that is was easy for them to obtain marijuana. And during that period, billions of dollars have been spent fighting marijuana. Millions of people have been arrested. More than 250,000 have been sent to prison convicted for marijuana felonies and yet marijuana use is going up. So I think the high price of marijuana and the high profits being earned by marijuana dealers is a guarantee that the marijuana use will not decline because of the phenomenal profits that can be earned growing what's essentially a weed that will grow very cheaply anywhere." I think his answer is so amazing because it sheds light on the fact that the government is losing the war on drugs. They have to find a different solution because apparently illegalizing it and criminalizing people who use it is not working. I just wish more people would open their eyes to reality and not hide the facts from themselves. Eric Schlosser is such a good representative of the topic because he knows so much about why the laws today are not working.

The so-called Gateway Drug

In this post I am going to write solely on my personal experiences. I feel that I fit the description of the average young adult in America. The average young adult that has been faced with trials and tribulations in the drug and alcohol world. I am twenty one years old and was born and raised in orange county. In high school there were many times I was introduced to drugs and alcohol at parties and events. When I was younger and in high school everything was illegal; alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes were beyond my legal reach. They were beyond my reach legally, but not completely out of reach illegally. Everything was accesible from alcohol and marijuana to cocaine and shrooms. There is this idea that adults and parents have that if the law prohibits something than kids won't touch it. That's completely false....kids are curious about EVERYTHING.

The reason why I am talking about this young curiosity is to bring up a common misconception; the idea that marijuana is a gateway drug. A gateway drug is defined as being a drug that introduces people to harder, unsafe drugs. I do not think marijuana is a gateway drug for young adults, especially under the age of eighteen. When a kid is under eighteen marijuana is not the only illegal drug that will introduce them into the world of buying illegal substances. Alcohol and cigarettes are usually the first thing a teenager tries before maybe moving on to marijuana. Therefore alcohol and cigarettes are the true gateway drugs.

My reason for acknowledging this misconcepetion is not to try to get marijuana legal for all ages, but it is to take a sour spin off of marijuana. The term gateway drug for marijuana is just another way to brainwash people into believing that marijuana is dangerous. All of these misconceptions about marijuana being dangerous and evil just heighten the curiosity of kids who have never tried it. Once they realize it is not as dangerous as people claim, then they get the idea that more dangerous, harsher drugs are probably not that bad either. There were many things I was told throughout high school that I wanted to find out for myself. It is like being told that a movie is completely horrible, but there is something inside of you that wants to see it for yourself so that you can make your own opinions.

If marijuana was legal I think it would be harder for young kids to get their hands on because it would be regulated and sold by government regulated businesses. When I was younger trying to get alcohol was much harder to get than marijuana or other drugs. This was true because of the liquor store obstacle. Somebody had to find a person old enough to buy the alcohol or a person with a fake i.d. Unlike buying marijuana where all you had to do is know somebody who had it or sold it. There is nobody checking your i.d. when you want to buy marijuana.

The Many Sides of Hemp

The word 'Marijuana' oftens strikes people's minds as solely being a recreational drug. This is only part of the contributions the plant has to offer. There are so many material things we use in our every day lives that can be substituted with hemp. Hemp is a tough fiber of the marijuana plant. The potential of the marijuana plant is so high, but it is being held back by society. In the early 1900's hemp was considered the 'billion dollar crop'. It has great strength and durability with the ability to have 50,000 different uses. Some examples of it's uses include:

Paper: One acre of hemp in annual rotation will produce as much pulp for paper as 4.1 acres of trees during the same twenty year period. It can produce printing paper, fine and specialty paper, techinical filter papers, newsprint, and cardboard and packaging products.
Clothing: Hemp provides three times the amount of fiber per acre as cotton.
Energy: The use of hemp as a biofuel would reduce the amount fossil fuels (currently 93% of our energy source) and nuclear power.
Eco-friendly Substance: Hemp can be used to replace current toxic petrochemical products. It can also be used as a biodegradable plastic product.
Fiberboard: This is twice as strong as wood based fiber board.
Food: Hemp can produce food supplements, salad oil, margarine, granola, birdseed, nutrient bars, cakes, breads, non-dairy milk, tofu, cheese, and ice cream.
Personal Hygiene Products: Hemp can make soap, shampoo, bath gels, cosmetics, and moisturizers.

The main reason why hemp should be used to replace the fibers used to make most of our products today is the fact that the marijuana as a regrowth cycle of one year. Unlike trees (used for most of our materials) which have decades to grow to their full potential. This causes more and more trees to be cut down when they don't need to be because there is an alternative.

After examining the many sides of hemp, I hope you can realize why I feel the government is insulting our intelligence and limiting our rights by making the marijuana plant illegal. There are so many more reasons why it should be legal than reasons why it should remain illegal.

My Thoughts on Pot...

The more and more I research about reasons why marijuana should be legal I get angier and angier with the fact that it is illegal. I feel like law makers and enforcers are comfortable with the illegal drug remaining illegal. They could care less about the facts on the drug and more about criminalizing innocent people. When you take a step out of our bubble we call "society" and think about this issue as if it is not an actual debate, it sounds ridiculous. Human beings are not allowing Mother Nature to live up to her full potential. Marijuana is just a plant that grows on this earth just like daisies and palm trees. Society is telling us we cannot grow or pick a plant that is naturally involved in our ecosystem. But what IS allowed is chemically altered substances that get abused, such as, vicodin and sleeping pills. Middle class families are living their lives popping pills to go to sleep, to be happy, and to wake up in the morning. These are the same people arguing against the legalization of marijuana. They claim it is dangerous, addictive, and mind altering. Well you know what I have to say to these hypocritical pill poppers? Open your eyes and think about what your saying.....Marijuana is a natural plant and it does not make good people do bad things.

Marijuana and the Legal System

The first law ever concerning marijuana was passed by Virginia assembly in 1619. The law required every household to grow it. Hemp was considered a valuable and necessary commodity. Sails and riggings were made from the plants fibers. Hemp later began to be used as legal tender to boost its production and relieve the shortage of currency. Marijuana later became a main ingredient into patent medicines that were said to cure migraines, rheumatism, and insomnia.

In 1910 there was a wave of Mexican immigration into the United States. The Mexican immigrants brought their traditions and beliefs with them. Their means of intoxication included smoking marijuana. The people of the United States related marijuana smoking with the violent crimes committed by the immigrants. Marijuana smoking was often associated with sailors, West Indian immigrants, African Americans, jazz musicians, prostitutes, and underworld whites. Marijuana was depicted as an intrusion into the pristine American culture. El Paso, Texas was the first city to ban the possession and distribution of marijuana in 1914. By 1931, twenty-nine states outlawed marijuana. In 1937, Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act which made the possession of marijuana illegal in the United States.

In today's day and age there are many different charges to the offense of possession or sale of marijuana. In California (and other states) having medical permission to buy or possess marijuana can have many risk factors. If one has a medical card by the state for the purchase or cultivation of marijuana they can still get convicted of breaking a federal law. By the state law possession of marijuana with a medical card is legal. By the federal law possession of marijuana can lead from one to three years in jail. By the state law, cultivation of marijuana with a medical card is legal. By federal law, cultivation of marijuana can lead from five years to life in prison. What this means is, for example, a cancer patient with the legal rights to grow marijuana in their backyard can be punished with five to twenty years in prison if the federal government wanted to convict them.

When I think of a prison sentence of life in prison, I think of murder or rape. I certainly do not think of the cultivation of a natural plant (marijuana). In Tulsa, Oklahoma Larry Jackson was sentenced to life in prison for the possession of .16 grams of marijuana. In Oklahoma City, Leland James Dodd was given two life sentences, plus ten years, from buying fifty pounds of marijuana from undercover police officers. There are a lot more cases in which life in prison has been the sentence for the selling, buying, or possession of marijuana. I think it is outrageous to "end" somebody's life because of their drug use.

Many people think that the government will never legalize marijuana because of the amount of money they receive from drug seizures each year, but think of this, the cost of incarcerating one person in prison for a single year in California is nearly $31,000.

Acohol vs. Marijuana

When I think about alcohol abuse in our country and the things alcohol brings people to do, I wonder how marijuana can be illegal. Alcohol alone can kill somebody even if it is their first time drinking. Alcohol can cause people to do things they might not otherwise do when they are sober. Around 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning. By using alcohol statistics I am not saying I think alcohol should be illegal. I am saying that when comparing an illegal substance to a legal substance does it really match up? Marijuana is extremely less harmful than alcohol, yet it is illegal. There has never been a marijuana overdose in history because marijuana is nontoxic. Marijuana is the third most popular drug in America. Alcohol and tobacco are most popular. There are many people objecting themselves voluntarily to alcohol and tobacco which have extreme negative effects. The government allows people to subject themselves to lung cancer from smoking and liver disease from drinking. As a marijuana smoker I would like to have the right to subject myself to marijuana. If I know the negative effects and the positive effects then let me make the decision myself on whether or not I want to smoke marijuana. As a 21 year old I make my own decisions on whether or not I want to drink alcohol. All I am asking is the government to stop insulting the intelligence of their citizens because we have the right to make our own decisions.

The Herbal Remedy

My vision begins to blur, my stomach becomes nauseated, and my head aches viscously. My body painfully embraces the symptoms of a migraine. I turn the lights off and the pain keeps growing. I close my eyes intensely trying to pretend the throbbing does not exist. I gulp down medicine in order to end this agonizing pain. Nothing seems to relieve it. Apparently the doctor’s remedies do not work as the migraine takes over my body.
There is one more option, medicinal marijuana. Throughout my history of chronic migraines I have welcomed an easing reliever into my life, marijuana. The pain brought on by the migraine is completely relieved by smoking. Ever since I have used the plant as a medicine to combat my migraines, I have moved on from viewing marijuana solely as a recreational drug, to viewing it as an herbal remedy.
The question is then raised on why marijuana is illegal when it has the ability to heal.