ll as states where smokers are still arrested. Attitudes towards marijuana use among young people in decriminalized states have also stayed the same. The evidence shows that the government can stop arresting marijuana smokers without harmful consequences. In February of 1996 the NORML Board of Directors issued a statement entitled “Principles of Responsible Cannabis Use,” which defines the conduct a responsible marijuana smoker should follow. Marijuana should be for adult use only. No one should drive while under the influence of marijuana. The marijuana user should take into consideration his set and setting and know when not to smoke. The smoker should resist abuse, only use responsibly, and not become a junkie. The marijuana smokers should also respect the rights of others and not smoke around those who do not approve. Within the five guidelines there are more stipulations (Stoup 11-12). In November of 1996 California and Arizona had the opportunity to debate medical marijuana’s merits when the issue was presented in statewide ballot propositions. In both states, voters agreed marijuana should be allowed for medical purposes. In California the proposition was entitled Prop. 215, and in Arizona it was named Prop. 205. As of 1998, Arizona’s legislature had effectively rescinded the proposition, while law enforcement officials in California adopted a range of innovative strategies to deal with the new law. The ramifications of the law have not yet become clear, but credit is given for its merit, and other states watch California’s experiment carefully (The War on Drugs 142). As Lester Grispoon and James B. Bakalar wrote in a 1995 editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association, “One of marijuana’s greatest advantages as a medicine is its remarkable safety. The drug has little effect on major psychological functions. There is no known case of lethal overdose in human...
