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Should colleges punish marijuana-smokers more severely than underage drinkers on campus?
Results so far:
| Yes | 27% | 269 votes | Total: 980 votes | |
| No | 73% | 711 votes |
Yes
by Cory Flanagin
Created on: February 06, 2009 Last Updated: March 02, 2009
I think punishment for either is hypocritical as marijuana is used for medical purposes, and drinking is allowed for a select age group after having been banned from everyone. Having said that, the reason I am writing in support of 'yes' results from the nearly universal ban of marijuana, and the social acceptance of drinking a toxic substance. If an individual can be punished for underage drinking, something seen as appropriate for adults, should these individuals be allowed to drive, kill in the name of their country, or vote for that matter and potentially effect the lives of millions? This is overlooking the fact that majority of the world has a much lower drinking age. I believe this contributes greatly to producing more responsible drinkers, as drinking becomes social norm and not a recreational activity to partake in often. These underlying social issues can be overcome and thus negate the need for colleges to punish students who take part in adult activities. On a cultural side note, with shows like "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?", it seems those under age are more intelligent then the adults who are allowed to drink.
College is suppose to be a place of higher learning as well, why not educate students on alternatives to alcoholic drinks, many non-alcoholic wines and other drinks are available. To imply colleges are an institution responsible for doling out punishment conveys a message to me that colleges are focused more on politics than education. Again I return to my point of a double standard, why allow some of the student body to drink, and punish the rest for following suite. On the other hand, marijuana usage is banned from the student body as a whole, and while this legality of this is debatable, a uniform ban merits a more stringent punishment. Age based restrictions and the resulting punishments are dated and ineffective. These types of laws are intended to gauge maturity, but maturity is a measure of experience not age alone. How many over the age of 21 display a complete lack of responsibility? Age as the sole criteria to measure maturity, at least in my opinion, implies a belief in magic. A magic that upon reaching the exact second of an age, one has an epiphany and instantly becomes aware of their responsibility.
In closing, no matter which side of the debate one is on, I believe the bigger picture is that laws should be based on facts and maintained by the people, and not solely law makers who no longer live among the masses. Colleges should remain educational institutions, and pass on illegal behaviors to authorities for any form of punishment, as they were established for just such a purpose.
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No
by Elizabeth M Young
Created on: October 19, 2009 Last Updated: February 18, 2012
It is interesting that one substance has a far more toxic and destructive effect on the body, the mood, and the reflexes, but is prosecuted with far less consequence than another substance which alters mood, judgment, and reflexes.
Under-aged alcohol consumption is treated almost as if it is a silly little rite of passage to be brushed off by parents who may have their own past and/or present alcohol abuse issues. Under-aged drinking is treated as a fact of college life. That is, under-aged alcohol consumption is treated like an acceptable fact of life until someone drinks so much that they suffer from severe alcohol poisoning or dies.
It is infuriating to hear that an under aged drunk driver is back out on the streets after endangering lives or causing thousands of dollars in damage, while the pot smoking counterpart remains in jail under more serious charges.
Marijuana use is demonised by far too many segments of our society, including alcoholics. Recreational marijuana is illegal and can definitely be abused by those young people who cannot be sober during any part of their day. But the illegality of marijuana is the exact factor that insures that it is controlled and distributed by the worst and most dangerous individuals and organizations in our country. If alcohol were under legal prohibition, the same dangerous elements would be distributing liquor.
As a result, there is a self-serving and socially destructive effect from making marijuana illegal, while alcohol is not only legal, it is far more easily obtained through safe and legitimate means. But not too many people die from marijuana poisoning.
Fortunately, both alcohol and marijuana are illegal substances when age is a factor, and the use of either should be prosecuted with equal fervor.
So the severity of punishment should be equal for both offenses. But it would make no sense to bring the under-aged marijuana prosecution severity level down to the level for under aged drinking. The under-aged drinking prosecution severity should be brought up to match the severity of action that is taken toward marijuana possession.
That way, under-aged college students would have an equal deterrent to ingesting toxic and harmful overdoses of alcohol, and thus progressing through the early stages of alcohol dependency, and the pot smokers would suffer the same consequences for exposing their classmates and community to the dangerous criminal elements who deal in marijuana.
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