Williams, Patrick. “‘Smokey dare: Maybe it’s time to regulate marijuana like cigarettes’.” Alt-PressWatch, The Dallas Observer, 20 Aug. 2009. Web. 19 Jul. 2015.
Patrick Williams is a writer for the Dallas Observer. In ‘”‘Smokey dare: Maybe it’s time to regulate marijuana like cigarettes’,” published by The Dallas Observer in August 2009, Williams interviews Craig Johnson who is head of ProtectYouth, a lobbying and nonprofit group. Williams initially establishes that while Craig Johnson is interested in legalizing marijuana, he still does not believe that children should be using the drug.
Johnson believes that by legalizing marijuana, the US will be able to regulate and tax it more effectively and in doing so limiting the access of it to minors and youth. Williams then explains Johnson and his groups efforts in attempting to legalize marijuana. The group had been collecting data from the government that shows the effects of tobacco regulation in the 90s. Since the government put pressure on tobacco companies to stop pandering their products to youth, the result was that fewer high school aged students are using tobacco. But, as this number went down, the number of youth that are using marijuana has stayed the same and even surpassed those who use tobacco, even though cannabis is still illegal.
Williams then cites an online source to state that the number of tobacco merchants who sold to minors had decreased 11.3 percent up to 2009 because of government regulations. Yet still, regardless of the amount of marijuana arrests made, the price of marijuana has mostly stayed the same and young people are using the drug the without decrease.
Johnson states that the US is more able to regulate the tobacco market than the marijuana market because the former is legal. “Effective regulation beats our current system of ineffective criminalization any day,” he argues. Williams agrees with Johnson’s ideals and then mentions the benefits legalizing marijuana could have on the government as well as young people. “Demographics are changing, old people are giving up seats of power and a younger, more reform-minded generation (you know, stoners) is taking the reins,” Williams states.
Ultimately, this article is arguing for the legalization of marijuana so that the government can effectively regulate it and in turn keep it out of reach of youth. This article would be good for anymore comparing marijuana with tobacco in their own argument in terms of teen use and government policies and economy.
I agree with a lot of the points in this article. Yes, we shouldn’t allow or encourage children to use pot. However the article does bring up a point,that no matter how we try to restrict marijuana use,adolescence are still gonna want to use it. I said this in another comment; that its like being an angsty teen, the more you tell them they cant have it, the more it makes them want it. So if we regulate marijuana, then it will be beneficial for both parties. The economy would grow, and teens will loose interest in it, which in turn could decrease it overall uses.