Point: Mary-Jane is not the enemy

Pot. It's a sticky issue.

Mentioning marijuana elicits one of three reactions: a bland acknowledgment of its existence, a hope to take a puff or a shocked expression at mentioning the cultural taboo.

The last reaction is out of line, miscalculated and ignorant.

Marijuana has been around for ages, and has been found to have many medical uses –– from leukemia treatment to pain relief –– and few negative effects beyond minor hallucination and smoke inhalation. It is, however, associated with a weak society.

Marijuana has had a plagued history. It was first regulated in the 1930s by government officials who believed it made people insane and incapable of leading normal lives.

In 1973 it was labeled as a Class I controlled substance with no apparent medical use.

Anti-drug ads have associated it with suicide, violence and everything short of child-abuse. The Drug Enforcement Administration actively fights studies proving its effectiveness at treating ailments, confiscates it as medicine and puts nonviolent consumers in jail, claiming that pot kills.

But here's a little fact the DEA may have missed: More people have been killed drinking water than smoking marijuana.

But that isn't the fault of the DEA not regulating water; it's the fault of a bad law and a culture which finds itself squeamish at the slightest hint of the pot culture.

Stoner culture is the source of most of the misunderstanding about marijuana. The word "pothead" drums up images of hooded hippies wearing hemp clothing, drinking organic milk and talking about their insights into the latest battle against capitalism. But in reality many smokers study physics, history, economics, politics, and in all likelihood, have voted for republicans.

Providers, contrary to what daytime TV shows and Hollywood would have you believe, are ordinary people. Some work as accountants, others as construction workers and some as farmers; they just happen to provide a demanded service on the side.

To some the question is, why waste time with pot? Well, why not? It's no more toxic than a cigarette, less dangerous than an irresponsible drinker and the act of smoking it is far less condescending than people who look down upon all three.

Some say pot should be banned because it makes smokers different, estranging them from the world and reality. This is true. It does alter a person's perception, but that condition is certainly not limited to marijuana.

The next time you sip on a mocha latte, gulp Coca-Cola or drink tea, remember that what you're drinking has caffeine in it and is far worse for your body than marijuana ever could be.

Caffeine is a drug, and, unlike marijuana, is actually addictive; many people can't operate without it. Too much caffeine makes your heart race, increasing your stress level and making you irritable and jumpy. If you miss a coffee break, you will feel the same symptoms with the added bonus of exhaustion and withdrawal. If you drink caffeine on a regular basis you have the same dependance on it as someone addicted to heroin –– keep that in mind the next time you visit AJ's or try to pull an all-nighter.

The college's zero-tolerance policy toward marijuana, while ineffective at preventing students from smoking it, is simply the by-product of a culture of misunderstanding that spans generations. It will take time for marijuana to become accepted on a national scale and here at Hillsdale, but it no doubt will –– and already is, in small circles.

In truth, there is nothing inherently wrong, evil or self-destructive in smoking marijuana –– at least not any more than smoking a cigarette or drinking coffee. Its maligned history has created a culture of ignorant paranoia and will continue to do so until the general populace is educated and the air clears around marijuana.