Frederick Garvin, Should Possession of Marijuana Be Decriminalized?

Everybody remembers President Clinton's claim, whether or not they believe it, that he tried marijuana, but that he never inhaled. As if that somehow makes it different from really smoking marijuana and it doesn't. But his admission did help remind us of a question our society is continued to ask for many years: Should marijuana be decriminalized?

I'll answer this question, but first I want to address the wording of the topic. I don't really think possession of something, you know, unless it's a gun or a bomb or something like that, should be illegal. I don't like the word possession for this topic. I don't think that's ever been the real issue. The real question is usage. Should using, or smoking, marijuana be decriminalized? That's the real question.

In my impromptu speech today, I'll argue that you'll never convince people that marijuana should be illegal if you start from an inconsistent premise. To help you follow my answer I'll analyze this by looking first at the arguments in favor of keeping things as they arežthat people should be punished for smoking marijuanažthen I'll look the arguments against this and in favor of decriminalizing. Finally, I will explain why I believe a blanket prohibition on smoking marijuana is hypocritical.

So, what are the arguments for keeping things as they are, for making it a crime to smoke marijuana? How many of you can remember that your teachers or parents might have said anything resembling this: "Marijuana leads to harder drugs."

What's the argument against this and in favor of decriminalizing smoking marijuana? It all comes down to the problem of hypocrisy.

As I mentioned before, our government hasn't outlawed cigarettes, but we know that they can kill people and they're addictive. And what about alcohol? It can affect your judgment, just like marijuana, probably worse, but nobody's outlawed drinking. And there are lots of things in our society like this. They're bad for you, but they're not illegal. So, why single out marijuana users?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating that anyone should use or abuse marijuana, not at all. What I am saying is that all the people in positions of authorityžour government, our clergy, your parents and teachersžif you want to convince young people, like myself, that using marijuana is wrong and it should be illegal, don't start with a premise of hypocrisy and inconsistency. If you want us to follow your lead, be consistent.