Retired Surgeon editorial on alcohol and marijuana
Community Columnist – Is legalization of pot on the way?
December 20th, 2010 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial
Whoever you are, I thank you for consuming my allotment of the 32 gallons of alcoholic beverages each Wisconsinite guzzles every year. I couldn’t have done it on my own. We have cheeseheads, but our beer bellies are the reason we lead the nation in the percent of heavy drinkers, binge drinkers and OWI. California may be No. 1 in dairy, but when it comes to booze, well, we got ’em on that one.
Wisconsin’s appetite for alcohol is not unique. Civilizations were making wine in 1000 B.C. Mankind seems to have needs for mood-altering substances, and ethanol has been a very widely culturally acceptable recreational substance. Interestingly, we condemn “drug” use but condone alcohol as a social norm.
Alcohol affects the central nervous system, causes changes in behavior and is addictive; it’s, therefore, a drug and a mind-altering drug from the first sip. While the use of alcohol is fashionable, alcohol is the third-leading lifestyle-related cause of death in the United States, and in 2008 almost half of all traffic fatalities here were related to alcohol. We acknowledge the lives ruined by alcohol but defend its traditional status in our lives.
Given alcohol’s high potential for abuse and without an acceptable medical use, it logically should be a federally regulated Schedule I Controlled Substance like marijuana. On the other hand, while alcohol will never become a controlled substance, it is probable there eventually will be Wisconsin initiatives to make marijuana, like alcohol, a legal substance. Fifteen states and D.C. already have legalized “medical” marijuana, and currently 10 states treat possession of small amounts of marijuana as civil, rather than criminal, offenses.
The proponents of legalization point out the there is little disparity between the pharmacologic effects of marijuana and alcohol so there is no logical reason to treat the two differently, especially when marijuana is known to be less addictive than alcohol. They also contend that marijuana, unlike alcohol, has established medical benefits and that classifying marijuana as an illegal drug is an exercise in futility for law enforcement that wastes taxpayer money and police time.
It would not be surprising that given long-term budget deficits there will be suggestions to raise revenue without increasing taxes by holding our collective noses and legalizing marijuana to generate income as we did in legalizing the lottery in 1988. That would make sense to Milton Friedman and over 500 other economists who estimate that marijuana legalization would yield $6.2 billion in tax revenue if marijuana were taxed at rates comparable to those on alcohol and tobacco. The saved $7.7 billion currently expended per year by governments in controlling illegal marijuana would be spent on the problems associated with widespread marijuana use.
Anyway, if ever legalized marijuana compounds our abundant problems with alcohol, I pray that an obstacle to the easy acquisition of both substances is established by mandating each can be obtained only at Department of Motor Vehicle offices. That’ll put a hitch in some habits.
John Ridley of Mequon is a retired surgeon. E-mail jr22js@wi.rr.com
I will admit, the last couple times I was at the DMV it was very efficient. The facility I used was remodeled, well staffed and finely oiled, even the chairs were comfortable. I did not have to sit in them long as my mission was easily accomplished. In fact, I did not even have time to finish my conversation with an old classmate I ran into while at the DMV. Funny, we were talking about hemp and cannabis also. I don’t know if this retired surgeon DMV location is that bad or he is just that aware that Wisconsin probably has more bars than grocery stores these days. And do not forget they sell a whole variety of alcohol beverages for us to kill our selves and each with also.
