Josh Hawkins Arguments For The Legalization Of Marijuana

As Washington, Colorado, and other states have begun to push legislation to legalize marijuana, experts and editors around the country have expressed their opinions. One such editor for Town Hall magazine, Josh Hawkins, expressed his concern towards the legalization of marijuana in an article titled “5 Reasons why marijuana should remain illegal.” Hawkins begins his article by asking how we, as a society, have labeled cigarette smokers as “pariahs,” yet people smoking weed gain the praise of many. He then proceeds to present five arguments of why marijuana should remain illegal. Hawkins cites mental health, along with crime as reasons to keep marijuana illegal. However, he commits several critical errors by misinforming the readers and creating

In his first point regarding marijuana addiction, Hawkins misinforms the reader by providing evidence that causes confusion. For example, Hawkins cites a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services statistic that claims that over 7.3 million people, 12 or older, depend on an illicit drugs. Of these people, nearly 4.3 million either had a “dependence” on, or “abused” marijuana. However, Hawkins fails to note how the Department of Health and Human Services defines “abuse.” As previously defined by the HHS, “abuse” contains anyone who has used a substance or liquid illegally. Additionally, the HHS claims that 38 million Americans abuse alcohol. How do they calculate this number? They claim that anyone under twenty-one that has consumed any amount of alcohol abuses it, and anyone that has four drinks in a three hour time span also abuses it. Because of these reasons, any governmental statistic, that qualifies as “abuse” must come with a grain of salt. As a result of this, Hawkins misinforms the reader because he does not accurately present the criteria of his

In his second point, Hawkins addresses the fact that once marijuana became legal in Amsterdam, educational and criminal problems have arisen. Hawkins claims that Amsterdam experienced trouble with students coming to the campus after rolling up off the campus grounds. He also argues that crime in Amsterdam centers around coffeehouses that distribute marijuana. While his points about school may pertain to Amsterdam, his point does not pertain to the U.S. because U.S. law already prohibits smoking of any kind in schools. With regards to the crime rates increasing around coffeehouses that distribute marijuana, Hawkins cites an article saying “In particular, the absence of legal means for coffee shops to obtain cannabis has highlighted their association with organized crime.” Ironically, this piece of evidence actually strengthens the argument for legalizing marijuana. If an absence of legal means to obtain marijuana increases crime, then will not a complete legalization of marijuana drive the crime rates down? Overall, the problems that Hawkins describes in his second point simply do not exist and even strengthen the case of legalization of