Puff, puff … progress?

There is a unique protest that has emerged from Michael Phelps‘ infamous bong-rip photo. Due to a photograph in British tabloids of Phelps smoking weed, the 23-year-old, 14-time Olympic gold medalist has received a lot of bad press and even lost an endorsement from Kellogg‘s. There is a boycott of Kellogg‘s products right now supported by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the Drug Policy Alliance. The protest involves individuals who are against the prohibition of marijuana, claiming that Kellogg‘s decision to end their endorsement with Phelps is hypocritical.

Rob Kampia, the executive director of a group called the Marijuana Policy Project, noted: “Kellogg’s had no problem signing up Phelps when he had a conviction for drunk driving, an illegal act that could actually have killed someone. To drop him for choosing to relax with a substance that’s safer than beer is an outrage, and it sends a dangerous message to young people.“

Ah, the epic alcohol vs. marijuana debate; which is safer, and why should marijuana be illegal while alcohol is not?

As college students I think we can all reasonably discuss the topic of weed without resorting to high school fantasies of a world where everyone is smoking all the time. Let‘s be real, it‘s a mind-altering drug and as great as Otto from the Simpsons is, I would be terrified if a stoner were the bus driver taking my kids to school.

Were marijuana legalized, there should be serious regulations and, yeah, even punishments for breaking those regulations. An age limit, high-in-public laws and driving under the influence would all need to be taken seriously. And thinking about it, any of these laws would be an extreme decriminalization from the potential time in prison you can get for possession now.

Obviously there are stark differences between alcohol and the ganja. I‘ve never heard of a crazed stoner beating his or her spouse, robbing a bank or even leaving the house unless it was for potato chips (joke). But more seriously, what THC (the active chemical in cannabis) generally does is mimic anandamide which inhibits the body‘s natural inhibitory neurotransmitter so that dopamine can be released. Basically, THC plus the brain equals happy, happy, happy. For my citation, Google “Mouse Party“ and enjoy.

The thing is, not everyone has similar responses to marijuana. Weed can be categorized as a stimulant, depressant, even as hallucinogenic. And although alcohol is referred to as a depressant, the way people react to it can be extremely different. There are the angry drunks, the romantic drunks, the crybaby drunks; the saying goes: It‘s not how many beers you drink, it‘s who you drink them with. Same could go for people you burn with.

Similar to the abstinence vs. sexual education dichotomy, the legalization of marijuana could actually have positive effects on some of the downsides of taking the drug. There can be health improvements if teenagers are taught about the adverse side effects of smoking marijuana as opposed to ingesting it. Were there an age limit, there might actually be an age where people desist from abusing the drug and rather just enjoy a bowl at (or before) dinner. Supervising the sale of cannabis could even help contribute to the economy, and perhaps eventually filter out drug dealers who would sell pot to children and young teenagers.

Some of these ideas won‘t even be taken seriously because of the image of pot users as lazy junkies. But again, alcohol was prohibited once and the same regulations have proved to be successful in controlling something that could potentially be harmful. Alcohol and weed can both be detrimental to a society if people are not taught the discipline of enjoying them in moderation.

Although SARA KOHGADAI supports the legalization of marijuana, she does not necessarily enjoy the drug herself. Or does she? Find out at sbkohgadai@ucdavis.edu.