Westword
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Dear Stoner: Why don’t any states put the legal age for marijuana use at eighteen? I can die for the military but not smoke weed?
M-Kat
Dear M-Kat: This is a common argument regarding age limits that’s been employed against everything from tobacco restrictions to professional sports, but be angry at the military draft instead of cannabis laws. While I don’t agree with all age limits (or fighting in wars straight out of high school), lines need to be drawn somewhere for substance use. Those lines are usually based on science and politics rather than freedom of choice, though not completely.
Jacqueline Collins
Established science shows that human brains continue developing until the mid- to late twenties, and cannabis use can impact that development. Even most pro-cannabis folks won’t put up a fight against that information. You could argue that the age restrictions should be even higher, but pot policy is a mixture of politics and science – and corruption, but that’s harder to pinpoint – with a sprinkle of freedom, so cannabis age limits usually follow those established by alcohol. (Medical marijuana use is allowed for patients under 21, but that’s intended for the sick and suffering.) Dying in a war before smoking your first joint is indeed a shit hand, but that hypothetical tragedy isn’t enough to change either age limit.
Hey, at least you’re old enough to vote.
Send questions to marijuana@westword.com.
