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Pros and cons of marijuana argued
Dickinson College debate draws a packed house.
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Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, speaks at Dickinson College during a debate with Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed about whether marijuana should be legalized. (Karissa Zimmer/The Sentinel)
A large crowd gathered for the event at Dickinson College. (Karissa Zimmer/The Sentinel)
Students, professors and others crammed into Dickinson College’s Stern Center great room Thursday night to witness a debate on the legalization of marijuana in the commonwealth.
So many attended, in fact, that the throng overflowed into another part of the building.
Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed squared off with Allen St. Pierre, executive director or the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a public-interest lobby that believes the recreational and medicinal use of marijuana should no longer be a crime.
Daniel Kenney, a Dickinson College professor of political science, moderated the debate, which was sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues. Marijuana state laws have recently been altered in 11 states, including New York and Ohio.
St. Pierre said that despite 71 year of illegality, “Marijuana is a huge public policy issue in the United States.”
He said that his organization does not advocate the abuse of the drug and noted that the drug is not harmless. The true debate, he argued, is about “liberty and personal responsibility.”
Freed said that despite popular belief, casual users of marijuana are not “languishing in prison” for years.
The average size of a sale of marijuana in Cumberland County is a quarter of an ounce, Freed said.
“I don’t decided what’s criminal and what’s not,” Freed said. “I decide what to prosecute.”
Freed said that marijuana is a gateway drug that “begets addiction, poor choices and crime.”
Responsible use of marijuana is a “myth,” Freed said.
“It disproportionately affects young people,” he added. “The gateway nature of it is clear.”
St. Pierre claimed that marijuana is not addictive and pointed out that tobacco contributes to the death of 450,000 Americans per year but is still legal.
“It’s not a gateway,” St. Pierre stated. “The most harmful effect of cannabis is the smoke you inhale.”
Reducing the harm from marijuana use, St. Pierre continued, will come mainly from legalization.
“If there’s no victim, there’s no crime,” he said.
Freed said the federal government and state legislature are responsible for making the laws and pointed out that legalization will not diminish the crimes associated with marijuana usage.
“I want government out of my life as much as possible,” Freed said, while affirming he is against legalization of the drug.
For 38 years, St. Pierre’s organization has been litigating for the medical use of marijuana, which proponents claim can be used to treat glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, cancer’s wasting effects, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy.
“Clearly doctors should be able to prescribe medical marijuana,” St. Pierre said.
Pointing out that neither of debaters were medical doctors, Freed said “smoked marijuana is not a medicine. There’s a high risk for abuse.”
He also noted that raw-leaf smoking is not a reliable delivery method for a medication.
St. Pierre said, “we would simply legally control the sale of it.”
Currently 100 million Americans live in states where marijuana laws have been partially eliminated.
Jim Hoefler is a professor of political science at Dickinson College and teaches a public policy course that includes medical marijuana as a topic. Hoefler noted that he keeps his opinions out of his classes, but said, “I think that the medical use of marijuana ought to be legal. I know the science is not definitive, but there are a lot of things that aren’t definitive.”
He said that if medical marijuana is the “only thing that’s going to help someone,” the person should be able to use it.
Patrick Sheehy, a freshman at Dickinson College from the Washington, D.C., area, said he attended the Clarke Forum Thursday because he likes a good debate.
“I’ve never smoke pot, but pretty much all of my friends have and I find it to be an interesting subculture,” he said. “Nothing is better when you keep it in the dark.”
Representatives from the Cumberland-Perry County Drug & Commission were also present at the debate.
Fiona Williston, a member of the commission, said marijuana is “absolutely” a gateway drug.
“Students who use marijuana often go on to use other drugs,” Williston said. “In our experience, marijuana use is the number-one reason young people come to therapy. It’s the drug of choice.”
