Right To Privacy

8 Pages 2066 Words

be
unattractive. It certainly is not productive and it can be harmful if
the "food addict" is over weight. But there are no laws to prevent
food addiction. If Congress tried to forbid the eating of ice cream
sundaes or cotton candy, many people would be outraged, others would
simply laugh. The same sort of argument is raised by some people with
respect to marijuana. Even compulsive marijuana smoking by an adult is
not so offensive that it injured neighbors or requires government
intervention. The attempt to use the law to tell people what they may
and may not consume at home is an arrogant invasion of personal
privacy. Protecting the Drug User's Physical Health Sometimes it is
said that the law must protect the drug user from himself. The
argument takes two forms. One has to do with the damage a drug may do
to a person's health and the other with the individual's power of
self-control or freedom. First consider the health effects. By any
reasonable standard, marijuana is a mild drug and as for overdosing,
there is no scientifically valid evidence of anyone dying of an
overdose of marijuana smoke. Of course, it is possible to commit
suicide by consuming large amounts of marijuana. But it is possible to
die by eating too much salt. Salt is not illegal. Aspirin kills by
overdose and that's legal. Many people die by drinking too much
alcohol, an addictive drug. It too is legal. Why is marijuana
considered more dangerous?

Protecting Society from Marijuana

One argument made against the legalization of marijuana is
that it damages not only the user but innocent bystanders. This
argument, like the one about protecting the user, has two parts. The
first deals with physical injury and the second with spiritual health.
The m...