Marijuana, assisted suicide spark lively debate

By Jeffrey Horn, Green Valley High School senior

Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014 | 2 a.m.

Nearly 1,000 Clark County high school juniors and seniors recently attended the 58th annual Las Vegas Sun Youth Forum at the Las Vegas Convention Center. They gathered in groups and discussed a host of issues affecting the community, Nevada, the nation and the world. Each group selected a representative to write about the experience. Here is one of them.

One of the topics that generated a high level of engagement and controversy at the 2014 Sun Youth Forum was the legalization of marijuana. Initially, students were reluctant about the drug’s legalization, claiming it could cause an increase in driving under the influence and overall drug consumption.

But as the discussion progressed, we concluded that legalization is unlikely to increase drug users.

For example, The Washington Post reported that since the legalization of marijuana in Colorado, traffic fatalities have been at an all-time low. The Journal of Adolescent Health found that legalization has not increased teenage drug use, and research shows the number of estimated drug users has not increased significantly in states where marijuana was legalized.

Thus, because it is nearly impossible to prevent marijuana usage, policies must focus on the safest possible regulation of it.

Currently, marijuana production and distribution largely is controlled by Mexican drug cartels that facilitate violence and smuggling at the border. By shifting the production and distribution of marijuana to legal industries in the United States, cartels’ finances would be greatly damaged. Our group agreed that legalizing marijuana would allow U.S. interests to make significant profits from the sale and regulation of marijuana.

The criminalization of marijuana also results in drug users committing crimes to fund their addiction. Students in our group emphasized it is important to consider who is being criminalized for the possession of marijuana. According to The Washington Post, people of color are disproportionately affected by marijuana arrests. While marijuana use is almost equal among Caucasians and people of color, minorities are arrested nearly four times as often for possession.

The second topic our group found engaging was the ethics of assisted suicide.

Many students in our group argued that suicide is irreversible and life is too valuable to end. However, we agreed that for people who receive terminal diagnoses from their doctors and are told that their health will deteriorate to a point in which they may not be able to communicate, remember their family and friends, or speak, walk or move, assisted suicide should be an option. Assisted suicide allows those who are terminally ill to be remembered in a healthy state instead of an ailing one and allows them to maintain some element of control. They also can pass peacefully in their homes while their health is manageable, rather than suffer an excruciating death months later.

The youth forum embodies the diversity that makes this country politically sound and teaches students to productively engage in political issues that will define the future of our nation.