'The dopest dope, I eva smoked'
Nicole Giglia
Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: Features
Cannabis, marijuana, weed, pot, grass, reefer.
No matter what you call it, it's still an illegal recreational drug. However, recently there has been increased attention on the possibilities of making marijuana legal.
Some students at Sacred Heart University have mixed emotions about the idea.
"I'm not really sure if they should legalize it or not," said junior Alexandra Bavasi.
"I'm not sure it would make a difference."
Junior Cory Emilia disagrees with the idea.
"I'm against it," said Emilia. "Not because it's a drug and drugs are bad but because I think it will end up being abused by companies like cigarettes are."
According to the New York Times with the current economic situation, many government officials have tossed around the idea of legalizing and taxing marijuana
The government would be making money by taxing the drug, but also they would be regulating it and hopefully be creating millions of new jobs for the new market.
"I don't think there is any effective way to tax sales of marijuana since there is such a big underground business," said junior Katie Henshaw.
"People will just continue to do what they already do to avoid the taxes: grow it illegally, sell it illegally, and smoke it illegally."
Emilia suspects that some corruption might occur if marijuana was to become a part of big business.
"They could put nicotine in the marijuana and the people would get addicted to it like cigarettes," said Emilia.
"It will become another problem."
However, the questions surrounding the legalization of marijuana go beyond taxes and addictive issues.
The current demand for drugs has resulted in drug violence that has "claimed thousands of lives in Mexico," said New York Times reporter, Jesse McKinley.
This has been an issue for the government's war on drugs for years.
"I would imagine the demand for the drug would be higher for a few years if they legalized it," said Bavasi. "After a while I would bet it would be less of a big deal, like alcohol."
No matter what you call it, it's still an illegal recreational drug. However, recently there has been increased attention on the possibilities of making marijuana legal.
Some students at Sacred Heart University have mixed emotions about the idea.
"I'm not really sure if they should legalize it or not," said junior Alexandra Bavasi.
"I'm not sure it would make a difference."
Junior Cory Emilia disagrees with the idea.
"I'm against it," said Emilia. "Not because it's a drug and drugs are bad but because I think it will end up being abused by companies like cigarettes are."
According to the New York Times with the current economic situation, many government officials have tossed around the idea of legalizing and taxing marijuana
The government would be making money by taxing the drug, but also they would be regulating it and hopefully be creating millions of new jobs for the new market.
"I don't think there is any effective way to tax sales of marijuana since there is such a big underground business," said junior Katie Henshaw.
"People will just continue to do what they already do to avoid the taxes: grow it illegally, sell it illegally, and smoke it illegally."
Emilia suspects that some corruption might occur if marijuana was to become a part of big business.
"They could put nicotine in the marijuana and the people would get addicted to it like cigarettes," said Emilia.
"It will become another problem."
However, the questions surrounding the legalization of marijuana go beyond taxes and addictive issues.
The current demand for drugs has resulted in drug violence that has "claimed thousands of lives in Mexico," said New York Times reporter, Jesse McKinley.
This has been an issue for the government's war on drugs for years.
"I would imagine the demand for the drug would be higher for a few years if they legalized it," said Bavasi. "After a while I would bet it would be less of a big deal, like alcohol."
Be the first to comment on this story