January 1, 2020
Other than being the turn of the decade, January 1st marked a revolutionary date for Illinois. The legalization of marijuana decriminalized the drug in the state. Those who had been arrested for under 30 grams of cannabis were to automatically receive clemency for the convictions. In short, they are pardoned from the conviction. In fact, there have already been around 11,000 pardons in Illinois for low-level marijuana convictions.
I can’t lie, it feels weird to be writing about weed for a school assignment. We have been taught since a young age that weed is illegal, bad, and it can destroy our lives. But now, can it? The decriminalization of the substance allows those whose lives were in a sense “ruined” to be restored in part. Families can be broken apart if a parent was caught with marijuana on their person. While having a glass of wine at night after a long day of work is normalized. The illegalization of cannabis does not greatly help prevention. It puts a stigma on those who choose to partake in this drug’s “experience”, where, in fact, as said in an interview with the former president, Barack Obama, “I don’t think [pot] is any more dangerous than alcohol”. However, in the US, only 11 states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana.
I want to know what makes marijuana more taboo than alcohol? Why do the standards society sets for, anything really, determine laws and actions? I recently presented on psychoanalysis and what I learned, in short, was how instincts v. morality shape a person. Now by no means am I trying to say that weed is the way we should break free from the confines of societal expectations, but I do think it is interesting to think what morals have been shaped from what we have learned from growing up. Think about it, what is free will? Often times I choose to follow along with my peers in order to fit into society. I think of choices such as these as free will, but are they? Conforming is what we have been taught will bring order and justice to society. However, it has gone to the point where this has been hidden as free will. We think that we MUST act a certain way to be liked by others. We often feel this pull to do certain this solely based on the reason we don’t want to be the odd one out. And people always say to be yourself and stand out, but do they really mean that? Aren’t we judged so easily based on our very own uniqueness?
Isn’t society supposed to protect us?
I feel like it is only just to share the other side of this argument because I do not want to be responsible for swaying opinion and myself taking away your free will.
Laws and regulations have been designed from trial and error over time. The laws we place on society urge us to conform and give up certain freedoms but it also allows us to be able to experience other luxuries. For example, what if we didn’t punish those who kill? Would anyone want to leave their house? Fear would, in turn, control us. Isn’t that worse? These freedoms we let go serve as a piece of mind. They allow us to try and be our own selves, to be able to go and experience things that may have previously held us back.
So back to cannabis. How does it fit in? No matter the time, no matter the subject; people will disagree about whether it is a threat or a matter of free will. The only way to determine if anything is truly “right” is to take a step back and look at it free of bias. Cannabis is relatively the same as alcohol to many people but to others, it is a threatening drug. This is based on an individual’s own experiences. I feel although it is only right to let you decide what you think of this issue. But I want to leave you with one final thought: we get so comfortable in the society we have all practices so hard to mold ourselves to fit. This comfort is more dangerous in my mind than any kind of substance. This is what truly can hold someone back from reaching themselves. As cheesy as it may sound, find your comfort level, and break it. See yourself outside of what society sees of you. It may be an eye-opening experience.