Page 163 - Phoenix2000-01

COMMENTARY Thursday, May 10,2001 - Page 11 Marijuana legalization imminent once myths dispelled Matthew McGowan sheds is so screwed up, after a minute it over a century. sources ranging from pot smoker that which is laced with other sub- some light about the effects feels like you have done it for so Many anti-drug campaigns networks to the Drug Enforcement stances; marijuana checked by the of legalizing Marijuana long and can 'f imagine stopping, have claimed that pot is up to three Ag1~CY, Pot can produce some FDA would be completely safe. because stopping would take away times more effective than once it shar-term memory loss in short- Don't smoke and drive. One In a 2000 interview with the the sensation you think y011 have was. This is impossible, as it would term users, but this is only during "major complaint about marijuana Phoenix about recent marijuana hadforso long; so whenyoufinally require a TCH concentration of the/high, and use of the drug does is that it impairs one's ability to busts at WMC, Director of Cam- do stop. itfeelsas ifa limb has been over 100%. not have a lasting effect or a reper- drive. So does alcohol, and yet it is pus Safety Mike Webster noted taken away. It helps you to relax lf marijuana were more potent, cu~sion such as the hangover suf- a legal, but controlled substance. that, by far, Cannabis, the drug and let go of your precautions its users would need less to achieve IIed by drinkers. In overall effect, pot is far less . commonly known as marijuana, is about yourself and allows you to their highs; therefore, it would In the seventies, according to detrimental than alcohol and less the prevalent psychotropic sub- understand things better because lessen lung damage, one offew real i ean Philip Sayre, college admin- physically damaging than tobacco. stance on the Western Maryland Why. then, is pal illegal? Good Recently, thedebateever the College Campus. question. Assuming Mr. Webster is In overall effect, pot is far less detrimental t Ian alcohol and less right, if marijuana is our biggest ;;~~~i:~.::e:a~~~:r:~~~ti~:S problem, then our biggest prob- physically damaging than tobacco. Why, t. en, is pot .illegal? lem is really quite small. Studies have come into common Marijuana, among both legal you are not scared to allow certain detrimental effects of the drug. Pot istrations, ours included, tended to knowledge of the drug's positive and illegal drugs in this country, is things to be true, Sometimes it users, unlike users of other drugs, look the other way where mari- effects and lack of detrimental ef- the safest andleast detrimental. Un- makes you feel like you are dream- learn in a short time how much it juana was concerned, and college fects. fortunately, the anti-drug move- ing, but completely conscious, and takes to get"t.hem high, and once campuses became safe havens for Yet it is taboo, associated with ment, and specifically the second as if you are watching yourself this high is achieved, they stop users of cannabis. free love and extreme liberalism _ Reefer Madness Movement of the speak. " smoking. Times have changed, though, and as American politics have seventies, has produced many un- Marijuana is, for its regular and Such is the nature of the drug, and the propaganda of the anti-drug grown more conservative, this is- true myths about Cannabis, which social users, a way to relax, a rec- movement has made the use of pot sue has become more polarizing. to www.cannabis.coml are listed and dispelled below. reational drug that produces for the according of this, there are no docu- not only illegal but very taboo even Congress needs to look at the Because The main and most visible ef- user an altered perception that is, mented cases of anyone overdos- of the fect of marijuana is the high it pro- the first time. somewhat alarming. among a generation of faculty who facts, not the propaganda and legal- Machine, Conservative were students during the sixties and duces, which a friend of mine de- but also refreshing. ~)~O~no~:OitsU:~i~:~~~ ~Yd~~~htr:~: seventies. ize a harmless drug that serves bet- scribed as follows: Jt is a myth that marijuana to- of thousands each year. The myths about marijuana, and ter than tobacco to relax its users "it can get your brain into re- day is more potent than it used to A second myth is that marijuan its illegality are what make smok- and more effectively than alcohol petitive cycles, so if you start do- be. The art of growing potent can- causes brain damage. This q1e ing it dangerous. lf marijuana was to unwind - cannabis. ing something, say rubbing your nabis is an Eastern one, which has comes from a study in the seven- legal, it could be regulated by the legs, you will automatically keep not been greatly advanced, even ties that was done with monke¥s, Food and Drug Administration. -Matthew McGowan is afreshman doing it. Since your sense of time with all of today's technology, for and has since been discredited,lby The only dangerous marijuana is undecided major. ue meaning of "Spring Fling" A coin versus a bill? Ieff Grever believes that of sight." Ilike to overanalyze things. I Not only is this sharing of eliminating the dollar bill Besides, I hare coins. They are find it a.very affective way to oc- goals a rare experience. bur also ,could be a big 'mistake. just a nuisance, and I wish we co,uld cupy those moments in my life the mission itself could not have have bills for even the small change when I should be studying or do- been more worthwhile. What is with this new dollar that we use on a daily basis. I real- ing something productive, and While "Spring Fling" proved coin? ize that this would cause a prob- since "life is in the details," Ijus- to be an occasion definitive of the Trying to get rid of the one-dol- lem as well, but the point is that I tify doing so by believing it to be college experience, it also served lar bill is one of the stupidest ideas am satisfied with the status quo. I a crucial part of human existence. as a classic example of how one that I have heard in a long time. I don't think that we should mess Of course, when faced with study- should live in their college years. have never heard a good reason for with something that works well in ing or having to be productive, any As the second year of my college using a dollar coin, yet there are so the first place. alternative seems like a crucial career comes to a close, and as J manygood arguments against Also, if we do successfully pan of existence. Michael Wiles think back 10 the events of "Spring switching to a coin from a bill. eliminate the dollar bill, then what With that said. Iwould like to Fling," I am struck by a sobering Ican't tell you how many times happens to the first great leader of indulge in my personal brand of To say the least, "Spring Fling" (pun intended) realization: I will f have lost change in my pockets our country. George Washington? procrastination and talk about, in took college life to a whole new never be this young again. from just sitting down in my car Don't you think the very first Presi- far more depth than I am sure is level. An event like "Spring fling" and having it fall out without me dent of the United States should be needed, the recently past "Spring By having a day when the truly shows that one must live and knowing re cog- Fling" weekend. whole school could convene in a explore life while they can, and it. Bo, I don't think that we should nized on Having missed it last year, relaxed setting, the students and not hesitate to just enjoy what is be fore mess with something that which I now view as a bad move, faculty alike were able to socialize around them every so often. the dollar ' ~~ru ~~s~ I faced this year's event ------------ To a similar coin, this works well in the first place. form of with much excitement and ...a day when the whole school end, events like this wasn't a currency? hoped that it would prove prove that college is big deal. I would be losing maybe Does that mean he is limited to a to be the great time I had could connive in a relaxed truly about far more 75 cents in a worst-case scenario. silhouette on the quarter? heard it always was. setting, the students and faculty than just studying and Idon't have to worry about dol- Don't get me wrong, I have It was, indeed, the planning for the future, lar bills falling out of my pockets nothing against Sacajawea, but great time promised and alike were able to socialize in a but rather it is also about because they are made of paper and shouldn't we give Washington a still so much more .. De- enjoying these unique they don't fall out very easily. little more respect for not only be- tails are not needed here, form not regularly found on four years of one's life, If the dollar is changed into a ing brave enough to take on the re- since I am sure most of campus. In -rbe end, coin, Icould end up losing six dol- sponsibility of being our nation's you shared the same ex- lars just by sitting down some- first president, but also for being "Spring Fling" proved perience I did. in a form.nor regularly found on to be way more than I bargained where and not realizing that it fell the great war hero. Simply describing the day's campus. for, but truly in the best way pos- out of my pocket into somebody He is a man that took on an events would, by far, not do them I personally met many new sible. else's seat cushions. army of inexperienced, angry colo- justice. And, before you jump to people throughout the day, and Why not have one every week- So if everybody is losing dol- nists who wanted to break free from. any incriminating conclusions. I found that little social tension ex- end? On second thought, we bet- lars as easily as they lose quarters, the world's most powerful nation can indeed remember everything isted. In short, everyone shared the ter not go into that one. does that mean that the dollar will of the time and begin their own that went on. I would not want same interests and goals for one lose its value and become less im- country from scratch. anyone to get the wrong idea or day: that of having a good time and -Michael Wiles is a sophomore portent? Does that mean that prices We owe him a little more than anything. enjoying themselves. English major. for everything will end up increas- the quarter, so by taking the dollar ing even more rapidly than they al- bill away I think we're neglecting While relaxing this summer, perhaps you might come ready are? to give him the well-earned respect This would across something to write about. This fall there will be ing that everything be ridiculous see- that he deserves. we pay for in positions available for writing, editing, etc. our daily routine seems to already -leffGreveris a junior communi- be on the upward rise toward "out cation major.