Here is another social commentary piece that I wrote during my time with John Hawkins’s grumpysloth.com. It was just published a few days ago on the website.
It is a very important piece on why marijuana should remain illegal at the national level and regardless of what the states of Colorado and California have done in decriminalizing it. I will only support medical marijuana, but too many pot advocates want the recreation part to be legal as well. They want to get high on the grass and not just on nature (apparently the later is what John Denver was referring to in his hit song back in the 1970’s “Rocky Mountain High”). But certain pleasures in life do lead to life-changing consequences and not always for the better.
I give seven good reasons on why Marijuana should stay illegal. The biggest one is right out of the gate and it was a news piece that was done by KCNC (CBS4) in Denver, Colorado. In that report, it showed one 18-year-old kid that wanted to get high and realized he made a very big mistake. It was too late for him however as the pot messed up his mind and eventually, he committed suicide. I highlight another victim of pot usage and my second reason is also tied into the CBS Denver report.
Marijuana Intoxication Blamed In More Deaths, Injuries
Another death in Colorado has been listed as having “marijuana intoxication” as a factor, according to a CBS4 investigation, and several other families are now saying they believed the deaths of their loved ones can be traced to recreational marijuana use.
Daniel Juarez, an 18-year-old from Brighton, died Sept. 26, 2012 after stabbing himself 20 times. In an autopsy report that had never been made public before, but was obtained by CBS4, his THC level — the active ingredient in marijuana — was measured at 38.2 nanograms. In Colorado, anything over 5 nanograms is considered impaired for driving.
Even my former boss wrote a list of his own.
5 Reasons Marijuana Should Remain Illegal – John Hawkins
Marijuana is terrible for your physical health: How bad is marijuana for you? It’s even more toxic than cigarette smoke. Regular users are hit with devastating lung problems as much as 20 years earlier than smokers. Even small amounts of marijuana can cause temporary sterility and it has a terrible impact on the babies of women who smoke including “birth defects, mental abnormalities and increased risk of leukemia in children.” If your standard is, “Well, it’s better for you than Meth or Crack,” that’s true, but you’re deluding yourself if you think pot is anything other than absolutely horrible for your health.
It is not about denying people their personal pleasures or telling them not to feel good. It is more important as a people to love thy neighbor and protect them from harm than seeking and getting that “high.”
Now here is the link to my list of seven reasons for keeping marijuana illegal.
