So, on the federal level, marijuana illegal, according to NCSL. But, as of April 2017, 29 states have made medical marijuana and/or recreational marijuana legal, dating back to 1996 when California was the first to legalize it. Essentially, you are protected by law in the states that have legalized recreational marijuana, but can’t export the goods with you back to your home state.
Refocusing our attention on alcohol, all states prohibit providing alcohol to persons under 21, according to the Federal Trade Commission. In addition, there are limited exceptions pertaining to lawful employment, religious activities, or consent by a parent, guardian, or spouse, but let’s just use 21 for our argument.
Based on the information presented, one could say alcohol is better than marijuana, as after 21 years of life anyone could consume it. And, marijuana is illegal on the federal level while recreational usage is legal in just a few states. Well, that’s correct, but remember that alcohol was once illegal on the federal level as well.
It was in 1917, after the United States entered World War I, and President Woodrow Wilson instituted a temporary wartime prohibition in order to save grain for producing food, according to History.
Shortly thereafter, Congress proposed the 18th Amendment, banning the transportation, manufacture, and sale of intoxicating liquors, or alcohol. The bill was ratified on January 29, 1919, and went into effect a year later, but 33 states had already created their own state level prohibition. In October of the same year, Congress passed the National Prohibition Act, providing guidelines for the federal enforcement of Prohibition.
During the course of the 20s, prohibition was successful early on, as arrests and alcohol consumption was down. However, those who still wanted to drink did, dubbed bootlegging. Essentially, bootlegging was the smuggling of alcohol across state lines and the informal production of liquor in private homes, according to History.
Career criminal Al Capone monetized bootlegging, earning an estimated $60 million annually from his operations. More criminals like Capone entered the bootlegging industry, and crime went up, most notably the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.
Eventually, in February of 1933, Congress proposed the 21st Amendment to the Constitution that would repealed the 18th, or the prohibition of alcohol. In December of 1933, Utah provided the 36th and final necessary vote for ratification, and all states abandoned prohibition by 1966. In the 30s, the country faced the Great Depression, and creating jobs/revenue by legalizing the alcohol industry was best for business.
Based on the additional information presented, I don’t believe one could say alcohol is better than marijuana. Both were illegal on the federal level at a point in time, but the difference is marijuana remains illegal. While there isn’t another Great Depression coming to America in the foreseeable future, according to a CNN article, let’s look at the facts of alcohol v. Marijuana.
According to Drugabuse, 88,000 alcohol-related deaths occur each year. Contrarily, the number of deaths caused by marijuana is almost zero. Onlinelibrary reported THC becomes fatal after consuming between 15-70 grams. To put that into perspective, a standard joint contains a half of gram, so a person would have to smoke between 238 and 1,113 joints in a day to overdose on marijuana.
Pertaining to crime, the substance that puts someone at risk for getting hurt, or hurting others, is alcohol, according to The Lancet. But, a NCBI marijuana study found that couples who used marijuana had lower rates of intimate partner violence in the first 9 years of marriage.
However, when it comes to driving both substances are bad. Marijuana increases the odds of being in a car accident by 83 percent, according to a Cuinjuryresearch study. Then again, the study found the odds of being in a car accident after consuming marijuana increased to more than 2,200 percent.
Bottom line, I’m tired of hearing people say marijuana is worse than alcohol when in reality it’s the other way around. It’s arguable if marijuana is good for you, but marijuana is better than alcohol. I’ve seen people get blackout drunk, not being able to remember what happened the night before, after consuming alcohol. A Tandfonline survey reported college students engaged in risky behavior such as driving drunk, or having unprotected sex, after getting blackout drunk.
Contrarily, I’ve never seen someone get blackout high, as I don’t think such term even exist. Former professional athletes Ricky Williams and Kyle Turley are leading the marijuana revolution in 2017, and were recently involved in a Sports Illustrated documentary standing up for marijuana usage for NFL players, and everyone.
“You can think what you want about smoking,” Turley said in the documentary. “You can think what you want about dreadlocks, blunts and bongs.”
For NFL players, legalizing marijuana makes sense, as it’s a better option than addictive opioids. Also, it’s not fair that players in states where marijuana is legal can be caught with it at a routine traffic stop, and not face disciplinary action form the NFL.
“Imagine a medicine that there side effect is euphoria, and people actually take not for anything, just for the side effect,” an unnamed man said to Ricky Williams in the documentary. “We’ve got to get rid of this insane prohibition based mindset that says that feeling euphoria is a bad thing. It’s not a bad thing. It’s okay if your medicine feels good.”
I agree, but marijuana consumption could decrease a person’s dopamine chemicals, or essentially their desire to be productive, according to Herb. However, the article does acknowledge there’s been conflicting reports pertaining to the claim.
“The best application of human ingenuity, and the human mind, is taking nature, and trying to understand how we can manipulate nature to make our lives better,” Williams said in the documentary. “And, marijuana is a plant, it’s nature.”
“Having the freedom to choose your medicine is important,” Turley said. “What we’ve experienced with these pharmaceuticals plays on our t.v everyday…cannabis resolves this brain issue. I know that personally. It’s happened to me. I don’t have these problems that I’ve had before.”
Like when the end of alcohol prohibition happened, I think the monetary gains from legalizing marijuana on the federal level will make the plant legal someday. If anything, legalize marijuana for the NFL players.
You can check out the full documentary here.
