Opinion: Decriminalize marijuana

Utah has over 6,000 arrests each year for a harmless crime. It results in thousands of dollars worth in fines and even years in prison time. The crime in question is selling marijuana. 

Ridiculous. 

We must decriminalize marijuana as it has proven to have no major long-term negative effects. Meanwhile, legalized substances such as alcohol and tobacco cigarettes are freely sold in stores and gas stations and are actually proven to cause forms of cancer, brain damage, addictions, overdoses and other long-term health defects. It’s completely unfair. 

Tim Pickett, the CEO and founder of the Utah Therapeutic Health Center, seeks to educate Utahns about proper cannabis use while providing medicinal cannabis for those with underlying conditions in Cache Valley. Pickett believes decriminalizing weed in Utah is the first step to destigmatizing its medical uses and improving job security and gun ownership for citizens. 

“It’s not a gateway drug,” Pickett said. “I want people to view it not as a gateway drug but as an exit drug for people who want to reduce other prescription medications.” 

While Pickett does not believe that cannabis should be fully legalized in Utah, decriminalizing it will prevent unjust jail time for thousands of citizens. On the other hand, Cole Lambourne, an Aggie alumni, believes fully legalizing the substance will benefit Utah more than not. He said Utah is missing out on tax revenue since most Utahns are buying their weed out of state.  

Lambourne does, however, agree with Pickett on normalizing medicinal cannabis use. “Citizens should be able to choose to manage their pain/problems how they see fit,” he said. “They should be able to use cannabis without fear. It would be a good alternative to having a doc prescribe oxycodone and getting addicted.” 

Making marijuana accessible to low-income communities instead of arresting them for possession would help these families. Since the War on Drugs, which began in the 1980s, the strict laws focused on drug users have been almost as bad as those who sell opioids. Weed, on the other hand, is not nearly as dangerous. 

According to C.J. Alexander and Isaac Reese from The Daily Utah Chronicle, the House of Representatives wanted to pass a bill to completely decriminalize marijuana in the United States with the MORE Act of 2020. This act would work to break the negative reputation marijuana has built up over the past ninety years, which relied heavily on racist stereotypes. 

Today, marijuana is proven not only as a capable pain reliever but is also safer than most other drugs. No one has ever overdosed from weed. No one gets addicted to weed. The benefits, both financial, social and medical outweigh the risks. Pickett commented as long as cannabis is cemented as a medicine, we can move forward from there with newer and better information. It’s all about progress, and the only thing we can do if we don’t decriminalize cannabis is to continue what we’ve been doing for years: selling and buying illegally, with zero tax revenue for Utah and dangerous stigmas surrounding medical use which can harm those who really need it.  

Megan Cowdell is a second-year communications student. She loves going on bike rides, reading mystery novels and watching cheesy movies.