Morgan and Morgan; for the Stoned People
Residents in the Orlando area hear commercials for the law firm of Morgan and Morgan all the time. During the ads, the statement will be made: Morgan and Morgan—For the People. According to the Orlando Sentinel of September 26, 2013, attorney John Morgan is speaking out on behalf of medical marijuana. His main argument seems to be that the painkiller, OxyContin (whose active ingredient is oxycodone), is worse. According to him, it kills 16,000 people a year and makes addicts out of many more (B2). He claims that marijuana is “comparatively harmless and more effective.”
He may have a point about the dangers of the legal drug. According to the article, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, reported that “there were 16,651 opioid analgesic overdose deaths nationwide in 2010.” It is the chief cause of overdose deaths in the state of Florida. While addiction to painkillers (especially when leading to death) is certainly something that needs to be looked into, it does not justify the use of marijuana. This is the tu quoque fallacy, which takes the approach, “Okay, this is a bad alternative, but so is this one.” Candidate A is an adulterer, but Candidate B earned some of his money in a questionable manner. In other words, “My guy’s bad, but the other guy is just as bad or worse.” OxyContin may be bad, but is marijuana a good substitute?
Morgan insists that the illegal drug is good for “ALS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, epilepsy, all sorts of chronic pain.” It may be, but has he shown that nothing else is available? Will no medication render the benefits marijuana does? Morgan appears to be on a mission: he chairs an organization, People United for Medical Marijuana, which is petitioning to get the issue on the ballot for the 2014 election and has donated $150,000 of the $248,000 raised thus far.
What is missing from the article are the dangers of legalizing marijuana. First of all, it does serve as a gateway drug, although not everyone graduates to more powerful stimulants. Second, it destroys synapses in the brain that affect memory and the ability to think and concentrate. It can also affect coordination and time perception.
How well are the new laws working out in Colorado? Some sources report that the police are not arresting anyone for using marijuana anymore (whether for medical or recreational use). In California, just about anyone can be diagnosed as needing the substance for medicinal purposes. It is too early to discern how these new laws will affect society as a whole, but the indications are not positive. A lawyer as sharp as Morgan cannot have overlooked what is already happening. Whatever his motive, some of us are going to doubt that he is, on this issue, for the people.