The warrior surviving the drug war: Marijuana
The war on drugs has routed many of the drugs out. Think about cocaine, caffeine and heroin. They have always been portrayed as the evils of society in their physical and cultural forms. The intense political and legal efforts keep these drugs out of the reach of common population. Likewise, these actions are not as effective on marijuana. Even if they are imposed, this drug manages to sustain through all the atrocities that befall it.
Havoc that the war has caused on marijuana
There are several facts associated to the ultimate attempt to eradicate marijuana. a seizure of some 20.7 million pounds since 1986 is claimed according to the DEA reports. 80.7 millions plants have been destroyed since 200 as a result of law enforcement. The border measures in the US have allowed the Custom and Border Protection to embargo more than 20 million pounds since 2010. Also, billions of dollars are spent by state and federal associations every under the label ‘drug-related’. Nearly 13 million people have been victims of arrests due marijuana related activities. All these figures are the attacks from the side of the anti-marijuana entities. As a response, marijuana only rested silently in the black and back pockets of its consumers and defended itself.
And why couldn’t this war eliminate marijuana from the panoply of drugs?
Even after such harsh measures were inculcated, marijuana stayed as a persistent product in the black market, and continued to flourish even after the gates to the free market were opened by several states by decriminalizing it and approving of medicinal use. The most conspicuous reason is its lowest level of disruption. Science and hence common people believe that there is not much harm done to the body from its use making it a friendly drug and a better alternative to hard drugs and alcohol. In addition, it is portable and easy to grow. Anyone can learn to grow strains of their choice, purchase seeds online and have the ‘packet of skunk of their own. The erroneous mindset of evil members supplying drugs to the society doesn’t fit into marijuana scenario as the supplier is usually a neighbor, a close friend, or a colleague who is equally safe and secure. Federals have even started realizing that it’s much easier to tax it and make money through it than investing into imposition of inconsequential law and order.
By and large, everyone, including the governments and antagonists, realizes the innocence of this drug in the picture of war against drugs. Even their deliberate and non-deliberate efforts could not delete marijuana permanently. It went down and rose back every time it was targeted. It kept its existence intact. And that’s how it hoists its flag above any of its rivals. It’s a war, after all.
