Marijuana Policy Project

Recently, the state of California put forth consideration to legalize and tax the responsible use of cannabis by adults. Oregonians are also set to vote on the issue in the next 18 months. To many, the West Coast is seldom a place to look for guidance on social issues; however, this time Californians may have a good idea.

According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), in 1997, marijuana was the cash crop with the third highest street value in the state, falling behind cotton and soy.

Mississippi marijuana growers are estimated to have made $218,832 per unit in 1997, while cotton was valued at $566,458 according to the latest information available for Mississippi.

If an illegal plant only comes up $347,626 short of the legal king cash crop, it is clear that policy should be reviewed.

Mississippi, the poorest state in the Union, should consider taxing and regulating cannabis, rather than imprisoning those who demand or supply.

With regulation, supply could mean buying at a liquor store instead of visiting the occasional weapon-toting drug dealer.

In the 1970s, Mississippi was one of the first states to decriminalize the possession of marijuana so long as the amount is less than 30 grams.

Our Legislature has not been one to ignore the popularity of the plant and its effects; however, one out of every 357 Mississippians was still arrested in 2002 for marijuana-related charges, according to NORML data.

In 2002, 978 of these were juvenile arrests. If the children in this state can just as easily acquire cannabis in their schools as responsible adults can purchase a pack of cigarettes or bottle of bourbon, prohibition has clearly failed.

Legalization, taxation and regulation is the answer. With regulation, law enforcement can ask for money for new technologies to enforce new, necessary laws for restrictions on driving under the influence of drugs that would come with legalization.

In Georgia, police utilize a mouth strip that can indicate whether one has smoked within two hours of having been stopped.

Currently, there is no way for Mississippi police to legally prove a driver is under the influence of cannabis. With regulation, this can be fixed.

In these times of economic turmoil, any valid ideas that can be brought forth should be up for discussion, rather than our completely trusting the same people in suits who seemed to have scuttled the U.S. economy in the first place.