Catch da Flava - Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre

FACE OFF:NOSTUDENT POTENTIAL IS GOING UP IN SMOKEThere are a number of reasons to support the criminalizationof marijuana. Although marijuana can begrown naturally the fact of the matter is that it is stilla drug. Like most other drugs marijuana containsproperties that alter the chemistry of the brain andtherefore should be illegal. The main active ingredientin marijuana is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol).When you use marijuana the THC kicks off aseries of cellular reactions in the brain that ultimatelylead to the high that users experience. Althoughmarijuana is not considered a physically addictivedrug it is this 'high' that people can get mentallyaddicted to.Studies indicate that marijuana is a popular drugamong students. Decriminalizing marijuana wouldonly further encourage students to regularly associatewith drug dealers to purchase their drugs. As aresult of this association dealers may try to turntheir young customers onto harder more addictivedrugs. One of the main reasons why young peopleuse marijuana is because it is a form of rebellion.If marijuana use was considered normal there is aYESSHOULD MARIJUANA BE DECRIMINALIZED?First of all, I support decriminalizing not legalizingmarijuana. In my opinion the government doesn'tlegalize pot because they can't charge for it.Marijuana after all is a 'weed' and can be grown inany house or yard that has good access to sunlight.This means that any one who wants it can grow itthemselves and where's the profit in that? If thegovernment was so concerned with our health theywould criminalize the production and sale of cigarettesbut they don't. That's because the governmentearns revenue from cigarettes. Yet cigarettescause more deaths than drinking and driving, suicidesand murders put together. If the governmentdid sell pot you could be sure that they and theirlicensed companies would immediately add chemicalsto it to get you addicted so that they could makemoney from selling their own brand rather than havepeople grow their own.risk that young people would rebel with harder moredangerous drugs.According to studies, marijuana use among youngpeople is considered one of the factors that contributesto academic failure among students. Manyparents are aware that their kids are smoking butcannot find a way to stop it. Criminalizing marijuanawould restrict access to it and deter kids from using.Another reason to support criminalization is that inrecent years suppliers have been known to lace marijuanawith other drugs and chemicals to help theuser obtain a stronger 'high'. As a result one is neversure what one is using when smoking marijuana.The last reason to support criminalization is becauseregular use of marijuana has been shown to lead tolung cancer as well as short term memory loss.byBILLY PETROPOULOS (AGE 21)AND N. MOZUMDAR (AGE 18)GOVERNMENT INTENTION IS ALL SMOKE AND MIRRORS ANYWAYSecondly the harms associated with smoking pot aretotally blown out of proportion. If we decriminalizemarijuana its true that a few more people wouldhave lung cancer but not anywhere near the amountof people who have it sue to smoking cigarettes. ButI agree there would be other horrible consequences.For instance there would be less cars on the roaddue to laziness and the lack of motivation to do workthat is spiritually unfulfilling. There would be a drasticspike in the potato chip business and of course itwould be next to impossible to rent funny moviessince they would be out all the time.I have experienced the effects of both marijuanaand alcohol and I can tell you that alcohol is by farthe worst. In fact I am appalled by some of thebehavioral effects alcohol has caused. People sayand do idiotic things when they drink and much of itthey later regret. With pot, oh the horror, you maydo and say silly things but you can still make straightsighted decisions, as marijuana does not impair yourjudgment in the way that alcohol does.Unfortunately as a society we don't want peoplerelaxed and not stressed out. We also don't wantthem laughing, watching stupid movies and growingfat on potato chips. We want people who are willingto work in dreary jobs from nine to five to purchasegoods they don't need.Whether the government decides to decriminalize itor not, I strongly believe that the consumption ofalcohol, cigarettes and other chemical drugs shouldbe treated a lot harder than a bunch of friends witha hunger for food, a funny video and a plant.byCHRISTIAN F. (AGE 15)Catch da Flava 5 DECEMBER / JANUARY 2008Debating the Issues