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do anything about it. He must remain true to both his platforms, and his party, or face the

possibility of not being reelected. The only time a politician will come out and say

anything about reform of drug laws, or legalization is when he is on his way out of office.

This is shown in the case of New Mexico?s Governor Gary Johnson, who just recently

spoke out for reformation of drug laws. He did this while at the end of his last term in

office(Norml).

The United States government knows all the problems which drug legalization

would alleviate. However they do not legalize drugs because it would cause various

sectors of the government to lose money. Most of the money spent in the drug war is

spent on law enforcement, and the correctional system. To legalize drugs, would mean

that thousands of law enforcement and correctional officers would lose their jobs, because

the crime created by the war would simply not be there. Also in the case of some

agencies, they would probably be completely eradicated, such as the DEA. This would

mean that these thousands of registered voters would be out of jobs. Come election day,

they probably wouldn?t vote for the politicians which caused the loss of their livelihood.

The politicians know this and put their own needs ahead of the needs of the country at

large.

The drug war is causing a great strain on the constitution, and the freedom of

Americans. The hysteria which has been created around drugs has allowed such things as

drug tests to be implemented in work places. Drug tests do nothing to detect the usage

of narcotics in the workplace. All that they do is test to see if there are drugs in the users

system. ?A marijuana user can test positive for up to 30 days after last using the drug.

Cocaine and opiate users can test positive for up to four days after using? (Norml). The

time when the user is actually under the influence of these drugs is normally no longer than

about five hours after usage. Therefore the test does nothing at all to aleviate the

problem associated with drugs in this situation, which is employees being high in the work

place. Also there supposedly exists a notion of freedom which exists in the United States.

What you put into your body while not in the workplace should be no business of your

employer. One can still be a good employee and a casual drug user.

One issue that lawmakers continue to ignore is the fact that marijuana is a useful

medication for a variety of aliments. ?From wasting syndrome, which is associated with

AIDS patients, to relieving some side effects of chemotherapy, to being the best natural

bronchial dilator known to man? (Meyer 56). In response to the known benefits of

marijuana, the government has sanctioned for the creation of marinol. Marinol is pill

which contains artificial THC which is the active ingredient in marijuana. However, most

patients prefer marijuana to marinol. This is because marinol is very strong substance, it

knocks out its users, it can cause hallucinations. ?Marijuana is a substance that patients

can use in low doses and reap tremendous benefits? (Norml). If marijuana was

reclassified from a schedule one (prohibited), to a schedule two(regulated) drug, doctors

could prescribe it easily. ?Now however, there are about six people in the United States

which are legally allowed to use marijuana for medical purposes?(Norml). It takes an

extreme amount of paperwork and various other inconveniences to even be considered for

the federal program.

Because of the current drug laws, hemp, the leaves and stalk portion of the

cannabis plant, is illegal. Hemp has been used for thousands of years in order to make

rope for sailing vessels. Do to the 1937 marijuana tax act which criminalized marijuana,

hemp is included in the substances which are illegal to posses. Hemp is a substances that

has the potential to be a wonderful cash crop for farmers. It doesn?t rape the soil of

nutrients like other cash crops such as tobacco, or cotton do. It can be planted in the

same soil year after year. ?It produces fibers which are fifteen times the length of wood

fibers, which are the only natural comparatives to hemp?(Norml).

The optimum system in which drugs would be legalized would be in a sort of

system where there would be a government run store where drugs would be sold only to

adults. Much the same as the way liquor is sold in many areas of the country today.

Drugs would for the most part be out of the reach of children. Drugs would be relatively

inexpensive, and within the reach of addicts, who would no longer have to turn to crime in

order to obtain them (when was the last time you heard of someone getting mugged in

order for the perpetrator to buy beer). People would be allowed to freely grow marijuana

and or hemp. Treatment for addicts would be free and easily obtainable. Money would

be spent on improving the conditions of schools, roads and other things that Americans

really need. There would exist much the same laws for operating a vehicle under the

influence of drugs as exist for operating under the influence of alcohol today. There

would once again be a state of freedom in America.

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