Meth Video on Youtube

DRUGS & SOCIETY

The author of this report has been asked to offer an opinion on what should be done in terms of marijuana and the laws that surround it. The four general options are keeping the status quo, decriminalizing its possession or legalizing possession and controlled distribution (e.g. Colorado, Washington, etc.). The author of this report has been asked to define what "decriminalizing" marijuana would mean. Basically, it means that people that possess marijuana would not be arrested although fines might still apply. An exception to this would be if someone is possessing enough marijuana that they are ostensibly into trafficking or dealing without a license or in a state where it's not legal to sell weed as a business. Of the three options, the status quo is certainly not a way to go. Indeed, the federal and state/local laws relating to marijuana completely conflict in many instances. This would generally mean that the Supremacy Clause would overrule the states or localities. However, the federal government has mostly backed off when it comes to states like Colorado and Washington state (Norml, 2015).

The recent passage of legalized recreational weed in seems to have shown that the sky is not falling and that the world will not go, to use a pun, to pot. Even so, the people and businesses that are allowed to deal in marijuana should be regulated extensively and the criminal penalties that relate to child neglect and driving under the influence should be equally enforced with marijuana intoxication, just like it is with alcohol. As it relates to the other drugs, the same logic does not apply. Marijuana is not addictive from a physical standpoint, although anything can become an addiction from a psychological standpoint. On the other hand, the effects of heroin, methamphetamine and crack (just to name three of the nastier ones) lead to a real and physical addiction, lead to crime from people feeding their habits or dealing on the streets and so forth. When it comes to marijuana, so long as children are not being abused and drivers are not stoned to the gills, the legalization and controlled sale of marijuana is the way to go. However, one major caveat is that the practices mentioned should be legalized at the federal level or at least left to the states. It would be nice for all of the states to be consistent but that simply will not happen unless forced by the federal government and even that would be hard to pull off. Perhaps allowing states to regulate marijuana on their own accord would be a middle ground.

Part II

As for the "Crystal Darkness" video, the results are really a mixed bag. First, the author has to state that the author has never used drugs of any sort over the course of the author's life ... not once and not even marijuana. As such, the perspective from which the author is coming from is not completely informed. That being said, the author is very concerned about the rise of drug use including that of meth, crack and heroin ... among others. The author is not all that concerned about marijuana although it can lead to some bad events on its own ... just not as bad as meth and the like and they're not usually as common or protracted.

The video is good in that it notes that the problem is extending all the way to elementary school kids. However, it misfires more than once in saying that just using the drug once can lead to a ruined life. While the odds of that happening skyrocket when a person uses it once, it is certainly not a certainty. A quick Google search proves that it's not a "one and you're done" phenomenon. For example, Drug Free World asserts that 13 million people over the age of 12 have tried meth. Of that substantial number, only half a million become habitual users. That is a rate of barely four percent when it comes to people becoming truly hooked. The video should instead assert that while it is not a certainty that one use will get you hooked, you are literally taking chances with your life if you try it even once and absolutely on good will come of the experience regardless. When it is made clear that it could stand to ruin one's family, job, child custody situation and so forth, the stakes are made quite clear.