2 ■ September 2002
features
the stentorian I ncssm
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of illicit substances
Rebecca Buckwalter
I n 1975 Holland altered its
policy on marijuana to
decriminalize possession
in amounts less than thirty
grams. It has since been
changed to five, but the princi
ple remains intact. Holland
changed its drug laws in order
to avoid spending billions of
dollars a year arresting and
prosecuting marijuana users.
In contrast, the United
States spends 31.7 billion dol
lars per year between state and
federal government on drug
arrests. Of 1.5 million drug
arrests in 1996 forty-three per
cent were marijuana offend
ers. An article published by
the University of Southern
California in July of this year
states, "...if all arrests were
equally costly, America spent
13.7 billion on marijuana
arrests, or 21,400 per arrest."
Marijuana, the world's
most commonly used illicit
drug, is often classified as a
'soft' drug, less problematic
than the 'hard' drugs such as
cocaine and heroin. This dis
tinction came about for vari
ous reasons. Cocaine has
caused increasing amounts of
violence, whereas marijuana
has never been known to
cause aggressive behavior.
Many Americans ask a
central question: What makes
marijuana such a problem?
Recent studies conducted by
Mitch Earleywine, an associ
ate professor of psychology at
use, show that less than one
percent of marijuana users
abuse heroin.
In Holland marijuana can
be sold in shops, keeping
Dutch marijuana users from
coming into contact with
criminal elements. On the
other hand, many American
users resort to procuring mari
juana from individuals who
also deal in heavier drugs and
crime.
Financially, support for
legalization of marijuana
comes from those who would
prefer the United States make
money off marijuana rather
than spend money on arrests.
Many states, such as North
Carolina, have the perfect cli
mate and environment for
growing marijuana.
According to supporters of
marijuana legalization, doing
so would create enormous
revenues.
Other advocates view the
financial side of marijuana
differently. "The fact is, the
mafia controls the drug
game," said Kevin Cook, a
pro-legalization junior at the
Durham School of the Arts.
"They pay all the right-wing
conservatives in the Senate
and House to keep the drugs
illegal. In this way, they can
be the only players and not
have to share profits."
Many groups against
legalization cite what they
consider the dangers of mari
juana. For example, several
groups have touted statistics
relating car accidents to mari
juana usageand claiming there
is a positive correlation. The
main problem with these sta
tistics is the fact that they do
not include the blood alcohol
level of the driver involved.
Also alluded to are the
studies showing marijuana's
impact on the brain.
Marijuana has damaging
effects which are acknowl
edged by parties on both sides
of the issue. Ten percent of
frequent marijuana users
experience memory loss and
paranoia.
However, advocates of
marijuana legalization argue
that tobacco and alcohol are
both more damaging and more
dangerous than marijuana.
In May of 2001 the
United States Supreme Court
ruled against the medicinal
use of marijuana saying that
the Controlled Substances Act
does not allow for a medical
exception.
Despite this setback,
activists still advocate mari
juana's medicinal benefits.
Sufferers of multiple sclerosis
many traditionally prescribed
medications for the same
problems.
Nonetheless, marijuana is
not the best solution for all
health related issues. In
countless cases there are more
legal alternatives for treat
ment. For this reason, groups
IS STILLSTUFtD.
ha. a.ilA-'t .
are much helped by the use of
marijuana, which allows them
to function better and helps
diminish pain and muscle
spasms. For cancer, AIDS,
and MS, marijuana seems to
help lend lucidity and relieve
suffering. In addition to its
effectiveness, the cost of mar
ijuana is lower than that of
opposed to legalizing marijua
na claim other medicines are
as effective and less problem
atic.
Also ambiguous is the
response of America's individ
ual communities to legaliza
tion. Would marijuana legal
ization make towns more or
less safe? According to a
recent article in The American
Prospect, "Poor urban minori
ty communities, which have
been devastated by drug vio
lence and drug imprison
ments, might benefit substan
tially."
However, some are con
cerned that if communities
legalize marijuana individual
ly, they may attain undesirable
reputations. In Lambeth,
England, after penalties for
possession were reduced, drug
dealers and users were attract
ed to the area, bringing other
types of crime with them.
Here at NCSSM, there
are equally persuasive argu
ments for each side of the
issue. Mani Maheshwari, a
junior, said, "I don't think
[marijuana] should be legal
ized. The fact that something
else is controlling your mind
is weird. You should have
control of your own mind."
She went on to say,
"Legalizing marijuana would
increase crime, [since] people
would be irrational."
Junior Carla Clark is split
on the issue: "I think that it
would be a good idea to legal
ize [marijuana], because it
would cut down on the court
cases and save money.
...People should be able to do
whatever they want to after
age eighteen. [On the other
hand], you don't want to legal
ize it because of the whole
moral issue. ...Legalizing mar-'
ijuana probably won't increase
crime because it will be open,
easy to get, and cheaper."
In spite of the compelling
arguments of each side, it is
unlikely that marijuana will be
legalized anytime soon in the
United States. Current foreign
policy conflicts have taken the
forefront to domestic drug
issues, of which legalizing
marijuana seems to be a low
priority.
The Declaration of Character
Continued from
Front Page
going to a conferenee in
Florida, leading Student Life
101/201 discussions about
ethical issues, and working
with the whole school to
develop a fair and effective
way to promote ethical aware
ness at NCSSM.
Many policies and proce
dures at NCSSM are modeled
after leading universities such
as UNC-Chapel Hill and
Duke. Honor codes are a sta
ple at eolleges and are now
implemented at many residen
tial boarding schools and even
some public high schools. So,
why does NCSSM have a
"Declaration of Character"
instead?
No one is required to sign
this declaration, yet it will
hopefully promote ethieal
decision making and 'foster a
trusting envi-^^^_
ronment by
I ... The mam purpose
right now for the
D.O.C. is 'just existing
and drawing atten
tion to the issue' of
another's in question.
Many students are against
the idea of promoting "rat
ting" on others by having an
honor code, but conversely
some are now concerned with
the ineffee-
a
of
placing
statement
morality in
the public
eye. This
may mean
developing a
more heavy-
duty honor
code by the end of the '02-'03
school year that would hold
students accountable for all
academic dishonesty, whether
it is their own integrity or
academic honesty.
tive and
vague prin
ciples of the
D.O.C.
Senior
Emily
Marzbani
believes
that "it's
really about what you think
cheating is. People will still
do it no matter what."
Similarly, Dr. Miller says that,
with or without an honor code.
-I
"honest people don't have to
remember to be honest." The
true problem is that "students
are unwilling to stand up in
this battle" against academic
dishonesty.
Clearly, the D.O.C. is
meant to do more than look
pretty. The Ethical Awareness
Group's goal for the D.O.C.,
found on the At-A-Glance
webpage, is for it to "become
a part of our school, some
thing that will sustain the test
of time, something that will
give us pride, and that we will
carry with us in our lives
everyday - even after we leave
NCSSM." According to EAG
member Charlie Stone, the
main purpose right now for
the D.O.C. is "just existing
and drawing attention to the
issue" of academic honesty.
The "Declaration of
Character" is still in the
process of review and revi
sion. This school year, EAG
is looking towards adding jun
ior members to continue the
quest for ethical awareness.
Upcoming events and issues
for the group are an honor
code conference at the
University of Virginia, spon
soring speakers on ethics and
the recent issue of plagiarism
software.
Regardless of statements,
declarations, or codes, the
goal to promote trust and hon
esty at NCSSM is shared