Personal:

It is nobodys business if you smoke marijuana. In recent polls, 46% of respondents agreed that marijuana should be legalized and regulated like alcohol. Smoking marijuana is a personal choice, no different than the choice to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, go skydiving, get a tatoo or body piercing, or have sex before getting married. Nobody but you has the right to tell you what to do with your body. This fact should be forthright in your mind. What you do with, or put into, your own body is your Constitutional right. It’s the same kind of private choice as what doctor you want to use, who you sleep with, or what career you want. I highly recommend reading "Ain't Nobodys Business if I do!" Also, NORML has Principles of Responsible Use to which we recommend people adhere.

With those facts in mind, using cannabis under the current law brings a few risks:

First you have to deal with the black market, which means high prices and often bad quality product. Marijuana is worth it's weight in gold, with prices ranging from $200 per ounce for low quality "schwag" or "middies", to $400+ per ounce for high quality buds. This makes the black market extremely profitable. While profits rise under a black market, the overall quality suffers. Most of the time you do not know exactly what you're getting. Most of the lower quality marijuana in the USA is imported from Mexico, and some comes from Canada, but most of the high quality marijuana is grown right here in the USA. If marijuana were legalized, importers would no longer have to hide it, so the quality of imported weed would no longer suffer. All prices would go down as the risk aspect of producing or selling it disappears.

Second, you have to deal with unethical drug tests. These invasive tests can determine if you're elligible for the job before you even apply if the employer has a policy of drug screening before they'll employ you. A great Drug Test FAQ can be found at the Somethingawful forums. Note, if you are not a member of that forum you'll need to register to see the information.

Third, there's the possibility of going to jail, or being forced into rehabilitation, if caught possessing or selling the plant. This is unacceptable in our eyes, and needs to be changed immediately. It's one of the main reasons for the existance of NORML. Also of great concern is Drexel Universitys zero-tolerance policy, which puts students at risk of getting expelled. The risk is not limited to just marijuana, but extends to the paraphernalia associated with it. DrexelNORML strongly believes that an institute of higher education should not punish its students in such a manner. Getting arrested, thrown into jail, then dragged before a court of law is one thing, but then to get kicked out of school (losing credits, time, effort, money, and a future degree) on top of it may as well be called cruel and unusual punishment.

Medicinal:

According to a recent national poll, up to 75% of Americans want marijuana decriminalized for medicinal use. It is currently legal for medical use in 12 states - Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

The governments assertion that it doesn't have medical properties is preposterous. Tens of thousands of sick people across the globe use cannabis for any number of ailments; AIDS, in which they use it to stimulate the appetite, so wasting syndrome does not take effect; cancer, in which they use it to suppress the urge to vomit after chemo, also allowing the patient to eat. There is evidence that marijuana can actually slow cancer growth, and a recent study, the largest ever done, has determined that there is no link between smoking marijuana and developing cancer. Other ailments it is used on include glaucoma, arthritis, back pain, insomnia, and a whole host of others.

Most importantly, it can be used safely, without smoking it! While smoking it gives the full effect, vaporizing it is safer for your lungs because it doesn't actually burn it. The active ingredient (THC) vaporizes at a temperature of about 180° - 190° C, and the noxious smoke and associated toxins (i.e., carcinogenic hydrocarbons) combust at a temperature of about 230° C. Vaporizors like the Volcano can be set to a specific temperature, thus preventing smoke from forming while enabling the patient to inhale the medicinal compounds.

Marijuana can also be eaten. To debunk a common myth, it doesn't have to be heated. If you eat it raw it will still work, or you can make something like brownies or Leary Biscuits (recipe is basically as follows: two Ritz crackers - cover one side of both crackers in peanut butter, grind your weed into a fine powder and sprinkle on it, and then bake in the over until golden brown).

Resources for learning more about the medical benefits of marijuana can be found on our Links and Resources page. I highly recommend reading a book called "The New Prescription: Marijuana as Medicine", by Martin Martinez. Written by a patient, for patients, it outlines the case for medical marijuana using scientifically backed statements.

Industrial:

While the female buds are used for smoking, the male cannabis plant can be used to create industrial products including (but not limited to) textiles, soap, food, rope, renewable fuel, fabric, paper, and tons of other things. Allowing these products to be produced and sold by and in the USA would add much needed jobs to the economy. All this can be done, while simultaneously saving the rainforest (pdf):

"Farming 10,000 Acres of Hemp Will Provide as Much Paper, Building Materials & Pulp as 41,000 Acres of Forest."

Currently, America is one of the only countries that does not export any hemp products, while we import quite a bit of them. A very good introduction to the hemp industry can be found in Jack Herer's "The Emperor Wears No Clothes".

On the topic of renewable fuel, take into consideration this quote from page 9 of "The Emperor Wears No Clothes":

"Remarkably, when considered on a planet-wide, climate-wide, soil-wide basis, cannabis is at least four and possibly many more times richer in sustainable, renwable biomass/cellulose potential than its nearest rivals on the planet - cornstalks, sugarcane, kenaf, trees, etc."

Another interesting fact is that hemp saved George Bush's life. Five years after it was made illegal in 1937, it was re-introduced for the World War 2 effort in 1942 (see "Hemp for Victory!"). When Bush ejected from his aircraft during a battle over the Pacific, little did he know that:

• Parts of his aircraft engine were lubricated with cannabis hempseed oil
• 100% of his life-saving parachute webbing was made from US grown hemp
• Almost all of the rigging and ropes of the ship that pulled him in were made of hemp
• His shoes' stitching was even made of hemp!

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Pennsylvania's Hemp Industry

Pennsylvania has a rich history of hemp growing and processing. Lancaster County was one of Pennsylvania's largest hemp farmlands, with dozens of mills in the area. Hempstone Heritage is a website for a book entitled "Hempstone Heritage I: In Accordance with Their Wills; All The Heckled Hemp She Can Spin", detailing the hemp industry in Lancaster. Some quotes from the website:

Did you know that the original Hempfield Township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania was named for the vast amounts of hemp raised there, and was raised on virtually every early farm in Pennsylvania? Hemp was a vital necessity and was grown by all of the early settlers of Pennsylvania.

I invite you to learn the fascinating details of the old Pennsylvania hemp industry in the Hempstone Heritage Series. By analyzing many primary documents I was able to come up with a unique perspective of the old hemp industry. What I have found is a story nothing short of amazing! After several thousand hours of research I am now able to bring the story of the Pennsylvania hemp industry to the world.

Between the years of 1720-1870, there were over 100 water-powered hemp mills lining the streams creeks and rivers of Lancaster County alone with dozens of hemp mills in neighboring York County. There were dozens more hemp mills in all of the surrounding counties. There were almost as many oil mills for processing hempseed and flaxseed oil. The Hempstone Heritage Series reveals to us all of the fascinating details of this once thriving industry.

Religious:

Many different religions around the world use marijuana as a sacrament. Under the first amendment, the government is supposed to respect the establishment of religion, and not persecute one; well, the government doesn't respect many religions, especially ones who do drugs, as a sacrament, which are illegal. A great read about this topic can be found at http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_spirit2.shtml.

Cannabis has been used as a ritualistic offering to Shiva by Hindus in India since 1200 B.C.E., and has appeared in their sacred text Atharva veda (Science of Charms) as "Sacred Grass." The Jewish Talmud also mentions the euphoriant properties of Cannabis. A major controversial issue for Rastafarians is their smoking of cannabis during religious ceremonies. Smoking marijuana has been at the heart of the Rastafarian religion since its inception in the 1930s, as a doorway to hear the word of 'Jah.'

For Christians, marijuana is mentioned in Genesis 1:11 - 13, Genesis 1:29 - 31, and Genesis 9:3. According to the Bible, anything that enters the body as food is not morally objectionable because it is not "unclean", therefore the argument that smoking marijuana is a religious offense, or "against God," doesn't hold that much water.

A great resource for information about the religious use a marijuana can be found at The Hawaii Cannabis Ministry. For instance, the following quotes from Exodus:

In Exodus 30:23 we are told that the Lord said to Moses: 'Next take choice spices: five hundred weight of solidified myrrh, half as much - two hundred and fifty - of fragrant cinnamon, two hundred and fifty of aromatic cane ... Make of this a sacred anointing oil."

In the text, the Hebrew word for aromatic cane is transliterated as 'kana-besem'. The modern Hebrew word transliterated as 'kanabos' is translated as "hemp", the English word for cannabis.

Economic:

Legalizing and taxing marijuana would allow the US economy to recover between $10 - $14 billion in annual savings and revenues. That's just from the wasted tax money that is currently being used to put and keep people in jail, and the opportunity cost of not allowing the US economy to provide a taxable product.

500 economists, one of which, Roy Kim, is from Drexel, are calling for a marijuana regulation debate because of these facts. For more specific information about that, please take time to visit Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition in the United States, a report by Jeffrey A. Miron. If cannabis were legal, it would eradicate the underground market, which artificially inflates prices and lowers quality due to the rigorous conditions suppliers have to deal with. The underground market is a direct result of it being illegal, because the demand for marijuana will always be there.

According to the National Drug Threat Assessment 2005,

"Demand is higher for marijuana than for any other illicit drug, and the constancy of this demand over time has ensured marijuana's ready availability and profitability. No less than 75 percent of illicit drug users in the United States aged 12 or older--an estimated 14.6 million persons--reported current use of marijuana in 2003."

There is an excellent page on DrugWarFacts.org with information regarding demand for drugs.

A lot of the people who are in jail for non-violent drug charges would be able to go back to their families, and get jobs, further strengthening the economy by becoming consumers and employees. Also, if it were legal, it would spur sales of marijuana smoking related products, such as pipes, blunts, bongs, and rolling papers, further stimulating the economy. That's not to mention all of the industrial products that marijuana can be made into.

Sociological:

First, it should be made clear that the Justice department has a vested interest in keeping marijuana illegal. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are supported by putting people in jail for marijuana, including (but not limited to); policemen, judges, jailors, et. al. Therefore, anything these people say on the subject must be taken with a very big grain of salt, simply because they could lose their job if marijuana were legalized. Their special interest in keeping marijuana illegal makes their statements suspect. That said, organizations such as LEAP - Law Enforcement Against Prohibition - have come into existence. Once police and the rest of the Judicial system realize the war on drugs is un-enforceable and destructive, they will have to start voting for pro-legalization candidates.

The underground market allows children very easy access to marijuana, easier than alcohol and tobacco. This stems from the fact that it's illegal to sell. It's illegal to sell, therefore the government is unable to keep track of who dealers sell to, mainly because they don't know who the dealers are. The sad outcome of this is that dealers can sell to any age group indiscriminately. This, simply put, puts teens at risk. It puts them at risk because if they get arrested on a marijuana charge, they will have that on their record for the rest of their life.

Drugs in general are a complex topic, and the suspect information that the government and drug companies put out is enough to confuse anybody, but what's worse is when dealers do not know what they are doing. This puts teens at risk because they do not know the quality of the product they are getting. The quality of any product that is to be ingested - and marijuana is frequently smoked by an estimated 100 million US citizens - should be regulated in a reasonable fashion. Alcohol, during prohibition, killed thousands of people because of a lack of quality control. In the case of marijuana, you can't die from smoking too much of it; that is NOT the case for hard drugs. Drug dealers who illegally sell marijuana most likely can get any drug you want. This gives part of the reason why some marijuana smokers go onto other drugs. High quality marijuana requires that you smoke less to get higher. It's healthier for the person, including teens, to smoke regulated, higher quality marijuana. It is also possible (though rather unlikely) to purchase marijuana that is laced with PCP.

If it were legal and regulated, then supply and demand would eliminate this black market situation. Legitimate stores would have age requirements, just like there are for tobacco and alcohol. Quality would be consistent, so users would know exactly what strain they are getting and the type of high to be expected. It would also likely stop some of the next generation of hard drug users before they have a chance to get that connection, possibly saving them a lot of time and money.

Marijuanas current illegality is based on racism. Minorities have been targeted in this war on marijuana right from the very start. Hundreds of thousands of otherwise non-violent prisoners, a large portion of whom belong to a minority race, would be released back into society (Herer). As well, drug testing would be considered a violation of privacy, just as it truly is, because quite simply, it is. People can use marijuana responsibly, and the law needs to recognize that. Anything done in excess is bad; responsible use is perfectly reasonable and acceptable.

Historical:

George Washington grew marijuana while he lived in the USA. The Declaration of Independence was actually written on hemp paper. The government launched a major effort during World War 2, instructing Americans to grow cannabis for industrial use by our troops in Europe. The campaign and ensuing video were entitled "Hemp for Victory!"

If not for the efforts of Jack Herer, this information would have been kept secret and hidden by the government. It was made illegal in 1937 thanks to the efforts of one Harry Anslinger, for racist reasons. For quotes with sources, please visit http://www.drugwarfacts.com and http://www.hempfiles.com/php/quotes.php. The US government tried to prohibit the use of alcohol twice in the last 150 years: in the latter half of the 19th century, the entire New England area was dry, although that was repealed. Again in the 1920s - 1930s it was made a federal crime, and eventually the public realized that prohibition was actually doing more harm than what they were trying to prohibit. The public demanded the right to drink, and the government listened. Now, it's time for our government to listen. The same thing is happening right now with prohibition of marijuana.

Cultural:

Marijuana has been apart of human culture for thousands of years, all across the globe. It is said that Jesus of Nazareth even used cannabis oil in his healings. Many people smoke marijuana for inspiration for artistic projects, including many hundreds of musicians, artists, writers, directors, etc. Marijuana is as deeply rooted in our culture as beer, baseball, or wondering where we come from. In America, people of all backgrounds use cannabis; there are no racial boundaries. A great deal of information is available in Jack Herer's "The Emperor Wears No Clothes"

While some cannabis smokers use rolling papers or blunts to get high, many prefer to smoke out of a glass bong or pipe. There are many extremely talented glassblowing artists in the USA, and these people have created some of the most beautiful artwork you'll ever see, usually using color changing glass.