Legalization of Marijuana for Recreational Use in the United States

First off I would like to say that even though I support Marijuana's legalization, I discourage its use. The purpose of the ban on Marijuana was to limit its consumption and sale in the United States. If you fail to see the logic behind my argument maybe I can elaborate now. Clearly this ban is not working the way it was originally intended to work. If the ban was working, I would have a hard time purchasing marijuana and we wouldn't even be discussing this issue today. I can go to my local high school, find a dealer, and purchase marijuana very easily. That alone means that the ban has failed and the government is creating a new problem because of the ban. However, I am going to agree with you that our society should not be trusted in having an unlimited supply of marijuana. There are many alternatives to an all out ban that the government can implement. For example, alongside the legalization of marijuana, the government would have the ability to restrict its use to persons over the age of twenty one. The government could also fund programs that could alleviate stress in the areas where marijuana is used. Support groups could be created to support individuals who use marijuana and these groups would help the individual "quit". If all of these steps were implemented, the demand for marijuana in the United States would be much smaller than what it is now. Speaking of supply and demand, that is how the Mexican drug cartels operate. The bosses of the cartels recognize that there is a high demand for marijuana in the United States and because they are career criminals, they want to capitalize on that to make more money for themselves. If marijuana was legalized, yes there would be "new interested users" however we are debating the fugitive effect of marijuana of these users. If there was a legal option to buy marijuana in their city or town, I am sure that the new users would rather go through the legal process of buying marijuana rather than buying illicit marijuana for which, they or the dealers could be jailed. One more thing, if Mexico and the United States decided to legalize Marijuana, legitimate marijuana companies in Mexico would sell to marijuana companies in the United States. Such trade could boost the economy in Mexico as well as the United States and the U.S would not have to spend as much money as they are on searching for illicit marijuana coming across the border although, harder drugs such as cocaine would still come in. If you haven't looked up the statistics on marijuana use yet then why are you debating this? Studies have shown that marijuana is less addictive and harmful than two other drugs legalized by the United States Government, alcohol and tobacco. Everyday you find people smoking and drinking if you go to bars and street corners in a busy city. This is very dangerous for their own health. Of course, nobody wants to see them doing that but replacing the tobacco with marijuana would be a little bit safer for the individual. Now alleviating the individuals stress would lead to him not harming himself at all, but such a drastic change would take to much time, debate and effort than the reward. According to UCB current marijuana users are more likely to avoid picking up heavier drugs than their peers in other countries, including the United States. This hints at a culture where cannabis is used only for recreation, with people fully aware of the effects stronger drugs have. The study also confirmed that Dutch citizens consume considerably less cannabis now that they have unlimited access to it. I think that speaks for itself.