by E L Swist

Created on: November 21, 2008

One of the largest contradictions involved in the criminalization of marijuana is the issue of health. People tend to be grossly misinformed about the health risks connected to marijuana use. If the possible negative health effects were really a motivating force behind the current marijuana laws than how do we justify the fact that alcohol is legal?

An estimated 100,000 deaths each year can be attributed to alcohol use.

5% of all deaths from diseases of the circulatory system are attributed to alcohol.
15% of all deaths from diseases of the respiratory system are attributed to alcohol.
30% of all deaths from accidents caused by fire and flames are attributed to alcohol.
30% of all accidental drownings are attributed to alcohol.
30% of all suicides are attributed to alcohol.
40% of all deaths due to accidental falls are attributed to alcohol.
45% of all deaths in automobile accidents are attributed to alcohol.
60% of all homicides are attributed to alcohol.
(Alcohol Consumption and Mortality, Alcohol poisoning deaths, CDC report, and NIDA Report, the Scientific American and Addiction Research Foundation of Ontario)

There are many official reports backing up the fact that marijuana is not as dangerous as people have been led to believe it is and support its decriminalization:

the National Academy of Sciences Analysis of Marijuana Policy (1982);
the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse (the Shafer Report) (1973);
the Canadian Government's Commission of Inquiry (Le Dain Report) (1970);
the British Advisory Committee on Drug Dependency (Wooton Report) (1968);
the La Guardia Report (1944);
the Panama Canal Zone Military Investigations (1916-29);
and Britain's monumental Indian Hemp Drugs Commission (1893-4).
The current consensus is well stated in the 20th annual report of the California Research Advisory Panel (1990), which recommended that personal use and cultivation of marijuana be legalized: "An objective consideration of marijuana shows that it is responsible for less damage to society and the individual than are alcohol and cigarettes."

There is no evidence that the prohibition of marijuana improves public safety or reduces the health risks of marijuana use. On the contrary the criminalization of marijuana makes matters worse in many respects. Current laws prevent the development and marketing of water pipes and other such technologies which could significantly reduce the negative effects on the lungs. Prohibition also allows the drug to be sold contaminated by pesticides

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