Marijuana Legalization

Sorry I forgot to mention; Please add sources/links to your info in round 3. Currently, the U.S Goverment spends 24.5 billion dollars to enforce the drug war. Legally, the criminalisation of Marijuana is a con. In 2012, 1,552,432 marijuana related arrests were documented compared to a 2011 estimate of 1,531,251 arrests. 2012"s provided statistics estimates an increase of 21,181 marijuana possession arrests (FBI). While one marijuana arrest was made every 42 seconds in 2012, only 40% of the 84,000 forcible rapes, 55% of the aggravated assaults and 62.5% of murders were solved (Nelson). A Marijuana Policy Directer quoted, "...so many violent crimes remain unsolved. Every second spent arresting and prosecuting adults for marijuana is time that could have been spent preventing and solving real crimes" (Nelson.) Why are we arresting a civilian for smoking a joint whilst a man can run free after they violated another's rights? Another reason law enforcement has concern for civilians under the influence of Marijuana is their driving abilities. It is fallacious to assume people who drive under the influence of Marijuana are incapable. Studies provided have shown "Cannabis leads to a more cautious style of driving, [but] it has a negative impact on decision time and trajectory. This in itself does not mean that drivers under the influence of cannabis represent a traffic safety risk" (NORML). Why is Marijuana banned when over ten thousand people are killed by drunk driving crashes per year? (GET INVOLVED). A theory exists Marijuana is a "gateway" to more dangerous and potent drugs. No statistics on Marijuana as a gateway drug, it is most likely a generalization. The earlier comment the government spends a total of $24.5 billion of taxpayer money to end this useless drug war is infuriating. These statistics do not even demonstrate how this endless war devalues the dollar, or mention the billions of dollars the court system must pay to prosecute these supposed "criminals." "Criminals" who did not violate or harm another's rights. The war is over. The simple proof of this; simply walk into a bookstore, venture for the gardening section and observe the pile of books on "How to grow Weed." People incorrectly assume if the government were to legalize weed, everyone would use it. Basically it"s the thought "I don"t want to use weed, so I need the government to take care of me. I need these laws!" The Prohibition of alcohol only withstood the people"s fury for a grand total of eleven years. People finally stood up and said "I don"t need a law prohibiting me from exercising my liberty as long as I don"t violate another's constitutional rights." Government involvement in the natural rights a human was born with is unconstitutional. In fact, Government involvement in marijuana, the leading drug, can only logically help the black markets and drug cartels. Why would a drug cartel, which encourages violence, or black market whose purpose is to smuggle illegal substances exist if no laws were in place? One can only imagine violence rates in the ghettos would decrease, as drug dealers would be unnecessary, and people would start looking for jobs and creating jobs instead of feeding off the United States" bankrupt system and selling illegal substances.