I finally received a reply from my congressman regarding marijuana's status as a schedule 1 drug.
It didn't take long for my two senators to draft their replies. Mikulski's position was clear - she is not in favor of across the board legalization, but says that doctors should not be prevented from using marijuana as an effective treatment for some diseases.
Senator Cardin was less than helpful. Responding to my concerns that marijuana was a schedule 1 drug, he informed me that marijuana is a schedule 1 drug. Spoken like someone who had just been reelected to a 6 year term.
But the biggest surprise was when Rep. John Delaney finally got around to his response. It was a new one to me:
At the same time, however, while federal, state, and local laws pertaining to marijuana do lead to criminal justice costs, there is also a risk that decriminalization or legalization might further exacerbate these costs.
Because there were 2.7 million alcohol related arrests in 2008, compared to
3/4 of a million arrests for marijuana possession, they say
marijuana legalization would undoubtedly increase the crime rate. Taken to the level of hyperbole, It's the same mindset that claims legalization would increase the demand on the black market.
[EDIT: The White House has since reversed its stance and scrubbed its website of anti-marijuana propaganda.
This link to an archived page may be helpful.]
My congressman seems to believe that marijuana legalization would result in a widespread societal breakdown into lawlessness. I can only imagine the scenarios he's concocted in his head, much like the hysterical (definition: irrational from fear or emotion) TV commercials where a carload of stoners run over a kid at a fast food drive-through.
Really, John? REALLY? Legalization might exacerbate the costs to society? There are approximately 40,000 prisoners incarcerated on marijuana related charges, at an average annual cost of $25,000 to $50,000 depending on the state. That's $1 billion to $2 billion a year.
If you add up the economic benefits of a boom industry, and the criminal justice costs which also include money spent on lawyers and time lost from work, the total economic benefit of marijuana legalization has been estimated to be $43 billion annually.
But the naysayers, like the President, point to alcohol and tobacco as costing more to society than the revenue they generate. I think that's the definition of a red herring. No one has ever died from marijuana overdose or from chronic use. Marijuana is not addictive, and it is not a carcinogen - in fact it has been shown to be an effective treatment for cancer. The comparisons to alcohol and tobacco aren't just erroneous, they are spurious.