Will Prop 19’s Legalization of Marijuana Lead to California’s Downfall?

As the debate over Prop 19 continues to rage on in the news media, blogs, and among the special interests, one can’t help but get swept up in all the politician speak and, in turn, lose sight of what laws are actually meant to do: help society and its people.  The idea behind the existence of laws (as well as why we follow them) is that ultimately they are good for civilization as a whole.  Without them, life would be reduced to a Cormac McCarthy novel (I liked him before Oprah, by the way).

Now if you happen to live in the golden state, then you’ve likely already had your fill of political fist pounding and the “Say no to drugs” rhetoric that has been spewing out of every mouthpiece since Prop 19’s inception.  However, one aspect of Prop 19 that has seen significantly less coverage is the potential effect legalized marijuana could have on the California public at large.

The best place to start is whether legalized marijuana could lead to drug use of the harder and illegal variety.  This is an old argument that’s been popularized by our schools, government public service announcements, and after-school specials for years.  In this sense, the idea of marijuana as a gateway drug is not a new.  Though just because it’s old doesn’t necessarily mean it’s any less relevant.

Certainly there is some logic to this notion.  It’s not hard to imagine that the feeling of being high is a pleasant one and that it could potentially lead recreational users of marijuana into wanting to try other drugs that are believed to induce an even greater high.  Furthermore it’s not hard to believe that legalization could get a lot of people who never tried marijuana before, or only used it occasionally in the past, to suddenly start using it.  Curiosity, after all, is a human trait that’s not easy to resist.

While there is a lot of legitimacy to these arguments, they also seem to ignore the fact that various levels of legalization in other countries around the world haven’t left those countries in drug induced ruins.  The process of validating scientific research is through the use of case studies.  And in the case of the effects of legalized marijuana, no greater argument exists to negate the idea that it acts as a gateway drug than by looking at other countries it has been legalized.  Germany, Argentina, the Netherlands, parts of Australia, have all largely decriminalized marijuana without degenerating into Mad Max–like societies.  People continue to work, earn money, and generally be productive members of society.  Sure, marijuana use has increased in those countries, but those gateways never opened.

Going back again to the initial point stated at the beginning of this blog that laws are meant to help people and society, the criminalization of marijuana has only seemed to hurt people so far.  Drug crimes are by far one of the highest prosecuted crimes in the country, chief among them is marijuana.  California for instance spends millions every year prosecuting marijuana possession.  One may argue that this isn’t a bad thing.  After all, a drug user who breaks the law should be punished.  However, in doing so the government may ultimately end up hurting society more.

This is because many offenders convicted for marijuana possession ultimately become repeat offenders.  What happens in turn is that what starts out as a sentence consisting of a fine, community service, rehabilitation, and/or a little jail time eventually becomes sending the repeat offender to jail or prison, over and over again.  By doing so, the once recreational marijuana user is transformed into a harden criminal.  A class of people who have been shown to not only be more likely to commit crimes related to their original offense again, but also less likely to reintegrate back into society.

Of course there is always the flip side to this argument, as well.  Namely that it was marijuana that started such a person on his or her criminal path to begin with.  However, the same thing was said of alcohol, and we all know how that turned out.