I've been staying out of this topic in an attempt to not appear like I support illegal drugs, considering the fact that my future lies in pharmacy. Unfortunately, I can't do that anymore.
Why is marijuana illegal in this country? Actually, it mostly has to do with taxes and the government making money. Sure that sounds like a silly reason, the government is trying to HELP us, right? The side effects of alcohol are so much worse than marijuana, look at how many people die every year between drunk driving accidents (including the innocent killed by the drunks) and liver disease and other diseases caused by abuse of this drug. Alcohol is one of the worst drugs in this country, because when you are intoxicated you cannot function properly... yet it is legal. Know why? Because it is a billion dollar business, and our economy would slump if we made it illegal. Little studies are done all the time trying to prove it can have positive effects in small consumption, but lets face it... it kills people. I personally quit getting sloppy drunk about the time I was old enough to legally drink. I think with age, I realized how horrible it is that it is even legal. But then again, that brings me to my next subject. Why drugs shouldn't be illegal.
Back to marijuana, weed, whatever you want to call it... I haven't ever heard of someone dying in a "high-driving" accident. In fact, usually when people smoke they slow down and its a little bit easier for them to pay attention to how they're driving. The only negative side effects it has include those similar to smoking cigerettes, except they are about four-fold worse. Okay, so there... that could be your reason not to smoke weed. But unfortunately, the average marijuana smoker doesn't chain smoke every day. They smoke maybe a bowl a day, for the avid smoker, and usually less than that. It actually ends up being much more healthy than smoking cigerettes. I for one am completely against cigerettes as well. The tobacco industry is another tax profiting industry that will never die... because our economy would crumble without it. It's really unfortunate that politicians care more about money than the health of our people. But I still don't think drugs should be made illegal.
In public speaking, where I first did research on my subject "Why the War on Drugs is a Complete Failure", I learned that numbers are the best way to make a subject really sink in. I keep saying I don't think drugs should be illegal... here's why. Once you make something illegal, you have to enforce that no one does it. That means punishing people that do. Punishing people for doing something that does not hurt themselves and hurts no one around them (I am speaking only of marijuana in this sense, and realize the dramatic problems that other drug use can cause). So numbers... lets start with annual "drug deaths" in the United States. Nearly 400,000 people died last year of tobacco related deaths. Compare that with approximately 100,000 that died in alcohol related deaths. Even second hand smoke beat out illegal drugs. Prescriptions were above the illegal drugs as well, gives you something to think about becoming a pharmacist, doesn't it? The actual number killed by illegal drugs was about a 4,000th of those killed by tobacco. So why are we spending so much time making sure nobody does them... shouldn't we be attacking what is killing us the most?
Lets break it down to how much time is devoted to different types of crime here in the lovely city I live in, Jacksonville. The year I took a study from, which came from the Jacksonville Police Department's website, had a total of 50,961 reported crimes ranging from theft, burglary, vehicle theft, assault, robbery, and murder. Yet for these crimes, only 9,591 people were actually arrested. That left 82% of the cases unsolved. 82% of the REAL criminals were left on the street... so they can steal and hurt even more. During the same year, there were less than 100 known offenses reported dealing with drugs, yet 8,167 drug arrests were made that year alone. That is nearly as many people arrested for all other drugs combined. So, drugs must really be hurting people in this city, right? They would never spend so much time putting people in jail and leaving murders and thieves on the street if drugs weren't hurting people. Nope, for that particular year the top three drugs people were arrested for were meth, marijuana, and ecstacy. In that same year, there were NO deaths caused by any of these drugs. NONE. So what are we fighting? This city spends money and time on tracking down drug dealers... and loses money and time that could have spent tracking down rapists. I think its sad, I might have to live next to a rapist... I'd rather live next to a drug dealer.
Quick point, some drugs do kill. During that same year, cocaine killed 35 people, heroin 1, oxycodone 3, hydrocodone 28, and methadone 7. Drugs do kill... but those aren't the drugs people were arrested for having.
Yes, I have dedicated the past five years of my life to becoming a pharmacist. Yes, it is the right field for me. Please don't try to say that it isn't, the way many of you have said things like that to other people that trying to show the upside of some illegal drugs. The government made most drugs illegal for reasons you don't really know. Throw away your history books, you won't find the reasons there.
And I'm not afraid to say any of this becoming a pharmacist. I think its fine, and so did my public speaking teacher when I gave this presentation (which included this info and much much more) in his class. He was one of the teachers that wrote a recommendation for me for pharmacy school, noting that I was one of the best students he's ever had in class. There is absolutely no propoganda in what I'm trying to convey... I'm just trying to say that so many drugs in this country have a bad rap, and the facts are never really put forward. We're told our whole lives "drugs are bad"... some people just never learn to think for themselves.
And someone earlier made a point that they don't know ANY professionals that smoke weed. Well, it really all depends on who you associate yourself with. Almost everyone I know smokes. Scary, isn't it? And nearly all these people that I know smoke make at least six figures, and have been extremely successful in life. They don't sit around and smoke all day. They go to work, blend in for the day, and then come home and smoke a bowl and relax. No harm done to anyone. The person closest to me that does this is not a smoker, does not drink on a regular basis, and does not do any drugs. And he is not some rare exception. You probably have no idea who you know actually smokes... they wouldn't ever tell someone like you. Someone that makes an assumption based on trying it once. They always say, you don't get high your first time... sometimes your second. Not to say you should go smoke weed... you might lose all your aspirations and fail in life. Haha...
With all that being said, I may as well mention I don't smoke weed. Or do drugs. Not to say I haven't in the past, its just not my cup of tea anymore. I don't even drink on the weekends, I let my friends get drunk, have a beer or two, and sober up so I can make sure we all get home okay. Its more important to me... and I've already had my days. And as for the actual topic of this post, drug tests could never pick out who the real drug users are. There are so many flaws with it. And a person who does drugs is not ANY more likely to steal from work. That has to do with morals, and drug use does not convey anything about morals. It has to do with personal choice. I know so many really good people that have done drugs, and would never steal. Well... I could go on forever, so I'll just let it end. Once again, please don't reply telling me I shouldn't be a pharmacist. I think its one of the best fields I could have ever entered.
