Legalize It

America is all about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. So, tell me. Why the use of marijuana is illegal.

We as Americans have the right to make our own decisions as long as we don't harm others in the pursuit. If we as a people want to use marijuana we should be able to. Marijuana has more uses other than getting high. Marijuana can be used to help fight AIDS; it can be used as a natural resource, hemp. Hemp has been used in foods and fibers since 6000 B.C. (Narconon). In fact, marijuana has only been illegal for one percent of its known life (Marijuana Legalization Organization). If it is so bad then why wouldn't it have been made illegal when they found out its properties?

The question isn't why marijuana should be made legal. The question is why is it illegal?

Keeping marijuana illegal is only costing us as citizens more money. We are responsible for footing the bill of putting "criminals" that sell or use marijuana through the judicial system. It's pointless to pay so much to lock these people up for selling a drug that is responsible for zero overdose deaths a year. Alcohol on the other hand is legal and adds over 100,000 deaths a year to our countries already rising death toll. If America were to legalize marijuana the government would be able to save much more money. Rather than fighting the use of marijuana they could put the man power and money towards fighting more addicting lethal drugs.

By legalizing marijuana the government would also be able to regulate who has access to the "drug". All drug dealers on the street care about are if their clientele has the money to get the goods, not their age. Which is another big problem, children who are eight or nine years old are out on the street corners looking for a quick hustle. By regulating the trafficking of marijuana the government would be able establish laws to regulate the distribution to our countries youth, similar to those on alcohol and cigarettes, except marijuana doesn't kill people.

According to studies conducted by the National Institute for Mental Health on marijuana, it causes "no impairment of physiology, sensory and perception, and motor performance in tests of concept formation, abstraction ability, cognitive style and memory". Many people say that using marijuana kills brain cells, causes people to become lazy, unmotivated and underachievers, and impairs memory. All of these facts have been proven to be untrue. An early

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