[420 Girl]

The grass seemed a lot greener for marijuana advocates observing "4/20" this year. With Massachusetts joining in March, 13 states have now passed legislation decriminalizing the possession of marijuana. The movement towards legalizing marijuana nationwide has grown larger by the day, and the conversation has reached a tipping point; no longer will open discussion of marijuana be stigmatized.

Ask any adult between the ages of 45 and 60 if they smoked marijuana at least once "back in the day" and the answer is likely to be yes. Times have changed drastically from the hippie era, however. "Objection to marijuana has become a cultural phenomenon," said Arianne Gieringer '11. She believes that people are opposed to it "because marijuana is related to hippies, and there has been a growing cultural prejudice toward the movement over the years."

Few would deny the potentially damaging effects of alcohol or drugs, but the argument against legalizing marijuana for health reasons seems weak at best. In fact, marijuana has proven medical benefits for patients with cancer, anorexia and anxiety disorders.

As for personal use, there has been no record to date of a marijuana overdose, and a study at UCLA suggested that even regular smoking of marijuana does not result in lung cancer, whereas alcohol has been proven to have negative effects on health. The question then becomes, as Ana Perry '12 put it, "If one is legal, why isn't the other?"

Taking into consideration the minimal health risks associated with marijuana as compared to other drugs, some argue that it is irresponsible of the American government not to legalize the drug. Adding to this argument is the belief that Americans are perpetuating drug-related conflicts in Central and South America every time they buy foreign-grown marijuana.

If foreign relations were not enough of an incentive for state and federal action to legalize marijuana, the economic downturn has served as a talking point for many marijuana legalization supporters. Politicians Barney Frank (MA) and Ron Paul (TX) are proponents of legalizing, regulating and taxing personal possession of marijuana as a means of boosting revenue.

Other advocates have suggested that the government allocate federal spending more efficiently, fighting more serious drug crimes. This, Rebecca Young '09 said, "makes sense."

Despite changes in state law, the legalization of marijuana remains stigmatized at the federal level. At Smith, the policy toward possession of marijuana remains ambiguous. The college seems to follow state law in most instances of substance abuse, but since the decriminalization of marijuana in Massachusetts, our policy on campus may need to be revisited.

Even if our no-tolerance policy remains the same, Smith will be unable to ignore the burgeoning dialogue on the subject on campus.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...marijuana.html