Be afraid of Big Marijuana
Recently
marijuana has been making headlines as states have been debating over the
possible legalization of the drug. Even though the marijuana movement has been
gaining supporters each and every day there still are people who are strongly
against it and feel its negative effects outweigh its benefits. In the article
“Be afraid of Big Marijuana” the author David Frum freely offers his views on
this medical and recreational plant; in addition to the opinions of Kevin
Sobet’s (former senior advisor on drug policy for President Obama). They feel
that it will be detrimental to legalize marijuana because it will turn out just
like tobacco and alcohol; that it will be abused by young adults. Kevin Sobet
feels that the target audience of the marijuana industry will be young people
and racial minorities because they are the ones most likely to turn to the
psychoactive substance.
A main idea of theirs is that “medical
marijuana is a laughable fiction” and that a typical medical marijuana user is
a “32-year-old white man with no life threatening illness but a long record of
substance abuse.” In a recent study it was found that in Colorado only 2% of
patients prescribed marijuana suffer from cancer and a measly 1% from HIV or
AIDS. The majority of medical marijuana users are ones who stated they had
unspecifiable pain and needed pot for their medical problem. Kevin Sobet is
challenging advocates of legalization with his new book “Reefer Sanity.” In the
book it attacks faulty myths about marijuana, such as the one saying the drug
is harmless and no addictive. David Frum feels that this is one of the first
books to spark a big controversy as it stirs up major myths about marijuana
that could change people’s minds on whether or not the drug does more harm than
good.
This
article is interesting as it presents a different opinion on the legalization
of marijuana. I feel the author’s purpose was to put forth knowledge on the
harmful aspects of pot and to condemn those who support it. It’s as if he feels
that supporters of the legalization of the drug are uninformed protesters that simplemindedly
believe the myths about marijuana not being a harmful substance. I feel that
most supporters of legalization do understand the effects of marijuana however
they also know the lifesaving effects of the drug as a substance to help the sick.
Also I feel should be a personal decision to use the drug not the governments’.
Who is Kevin Sobet to say who should and who should be allowed to use marijuana?
Does it really matter if only a small margin of people use it for medical
reasons? At least that small margin gets that chance in legalized states
because without it their lives would still be filled with pain and agony. David
Frum’s article is targeted to cnn.com users who want the latest news on the
legalization of marijuana in the United States. I feel it would be targeted to
middle and upper-class parents as well as young adults who are curious about
the legislative action. In addition schools would most likely be targeted by
this article because they could use some of the facts to educate their students
and they could debates this topic.
-Merrilee
Viguers
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