cannabisnews.com: In Praise of Pot In Praise of Pot Posted by CN Staff on July 12, 2002 at 07:04:20 PT By Nathan Holdaway Source: Salt Lake Tribune As a pot smoker I am sick and tired of people judging "my kind" as stoners, lawbreakers, and/or social deviants. I will graduate college this fall. While I go to school I work 40 hours a week while taking a course load of 18 credit hours of upper-division courses. I have never been arrested, I pay my taxes, vote, exercise, contribute to a 401k, etc., as do many of my fellow pot-smokers. I have personally smoked with members of my school's faculty who hold very respected positions. The point is that I am not going away. Neither are any of my colleagues. Every year government spends more and more money incarcerating drug offenders while releasing rapists and kidnappers to make room. Yet has the war on drugs done anything to me? No. In fact the cost for me to buy a bag has gone down -- which in simple economics means that the demand for it has increased. In 1995 the state of Utah ranked 34th in the nation for marijuana production yet it was still our No. 2 cash crop behind hay. The 16,000 pounds of Utah-grown marijuana that year had an estimated street value between $69 million and $111 million. The war on drugs was only able to eradicate 5 percent of that year's crop, or $5 million worth. Legalization would generate revenue from taxes, create jobs, and free up funds from our already overcrowded prison system. The reality is that the "War on Drugs" causes more crime than it eradicates. For every "dealer" arrested there are five to 10 more who will take his place. Someone you know and love smokes pot. Are they criminals? A distinction needs to be made: Is it the crime that is committed when high that is illegal or is it being high that is illegal? People get high every day without breaking the law. And what business is it of yours or the government's what I put into my body as long as I do not harm another individual on this planet? Source: Salt Lake Tribune (UT)Author: Nathan HoldawayPublished: Friday, July 12, 2002Copyright: 2002 The Salt Lake TribuneContact: letters sltrib.comWebsite: http://www.sltrib.com/ CannabisNews - Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by paul peterson on July 12, 2002 at 19:34:31 PT: NATHAN HOLDAWAY Gutsy article, Nathan, to come right out and profess to be a weed-head and all. I did the same thing and I'm no longer a lawyer (just a fighting suspended guy that is GIVING A MEDICAL MARIJUANA SENSITIVITY SEMINAR at my hometown library next week-I guess they like my style or something!) I've been trying to get some exposure for a year now, and finally people are starting to call me back and talk about this thing-I even got a local newspaper to take some pictures today! Check out my web site for some articles (please feel free to use anything you like). I've got more updates coming soon. Best wishes. PAUL PETERSON http://ILLINOIS-MMI.org [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by CorvallisEric on July 12, 2002 at 12:44:57 PT Economics In fact the cost for me to buy a bag has gone down -- which in simple economics means that the demand for it has increased. What he probably meant to say, and I wish he had, was that increased demand led to even greater increased supply - like successful high-tech toys. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by bongathon on July 12, 2002 at 09:54:07 PT: price drop I wish i could say the same for Colorado, but the price is stable at $100 a quarter here and doesn't seem to be dropping any. In 1990, it was $65. Maybe schwag is cheaper now but who wants it.I would grow, legally, for my migraines but my kid would turn me in to the DEA and I'm already in trouble for starting a head shop here. They pressured me enough to get it closed down. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment