2008 Woodie Awards
The debate over marijuana laws
Sawyer Sutton
Issue date: 11/5/07 Section: News
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After being introduced as the "biggest pot-head in the country," Hagar did what he could to give that title dignity by talking about the environmental and health benefits of marijuana being legalized. He also picked out flaws in the current law enforcement system in his opening statements.
Stutman fired back, admitting the flaws in the system and reminding everyone that it stays in place unless people change the law. He also pointed out that, while some doctors give cancer patients treatment with medicinal marijuana, there are only two varieties out of the 435 forms of cannabis which are suitable for such use that do not cause dependence. There are other forms that do not cause addiction, but they do not produce the necessary medicinal effects either.
Hagar pointed out that responsible use of the plant as a recreational drug and hemp's low cost to consumers both monetarily and, more importantly, environmentally, would be the only way for legalization to make sense in this country. It costs the US taxpayers, on average, $100,000 to send one individual to prison for one year. According to the debate, a lot of money could be saved by dropping the cost, not only of that but of enforcement as well.
Making paper or clothing out of hemp does not produce dioxin that is poured into our waterways like current systems do. Most of the materials originally made from hemp are not made out of petrochemicals, a finite and toxic resource.
It was stated that when it comes to health issues, cannabis never actually killed anyone unless they were hung with hemp. In fact, one would have to smoke 15lbs of the reefer in order to die. Nicotine patches can kill if overdosed and there is always drunk driving which kills a few people as well.
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