The use of cannabis for recreational use by those over 18 should be disallowed by the USG*

Would like to remind everyone that DucoNihilum's response for the previous round is in the comments section. Well argued DucoNihilum! The first point in your response is true. That regardless of cannabis being legal or not, "harder drugs" will still be harder to obtain. One thing that will happen as a result of legalization is more people will start taking it. Do you not think sir that when this is made legal, the people who were hesitant about taking cannabis for fear of getting caught will still be hesitant. Aside from that, if made legal, the prices would drop as business are sure to move in and commercialize the product, an increase in supply lowers the prices, thus making it more available to everyone. There will definitely be an increase in cannabis takers, I am not saying by how much, just that there will be. Given that, I would like to say that if this were true, my following arguments would hold up: 1.) That if the gateway theory proved correct, the increase in cannabis takers will lead to an increase in takers of "harder drugs". The removal of the ban will lead to more people taking it, and perhaps even affluent people taking it, who can afford the other more expensive drugs. Even if it is just a presumption, it stands to reason that there is still a risk, a risk that we might not be willing to take given the negative consequences of the harder drugs, not only to ourselves but to others as outline in point 2. 2.) Cannabis, and drugs in general, do not just cause harm to ourselves, they also cause harm to others. These come in the forms of physical harm like, more dangerous influenced drivers on the road, and people who commit random acts of violence due to being influenced. Your statement, "As not every single person who does cannabis will go out and kill somebody, it is necessary that you would arrest multiple innocent people in the process of trying to prevent criminal action. ", is flawed because at the moment, cannabis is illegal, so there are not innocent people being arrested, just those who posses this illicit drug. If it is made legal, then these people will not be arrested. At the moment, their arrest isn't on the presumption that they will kill somebody else, it is just because they have this drug. That being said, I still stand by my statement that more drugs equals more dangers to the society, and I have only spoken about the physical dangers. What about the psychological dangers? Do we not hurt our relatives and family when we take drugs. Emotionally? Does this kind of hurt even count? Families have broken apart because of drugs, is this something the government should fuel with a legalization of cannabis? 3.) You said: "It is very possible for a government to protect people from each other without protecting them from themselves. This can be accomplished by protecting people from each other, but not themselves. " it is easier said and done I think, we really should be extra careful, this year's federal budget is even tighter, and the police force, even more strained. (as seen here: http://www.columbusdispatch.com...) and here (http://www.ajc.com...). 4.) You also said: "The government's duty is not to protect one from all possible harm. If it were, we might be living in tubes, as if we were from the matrix.". I think this statement is flawed. The government should try its best to protect each and everyone of us from as much harm from each other as possible. Meaning, the legalization of cannabis is just like putting more catalysts of violence into society, or perhaps a more apt analogy, fanning the flames. I hope its clear that people do not need to die for anymore needless deaths. Drunk drivers hitting people each year, statistically? 9526 people, (http://www.alcoholalert.com...), and it goes up every day! I dont think we need it to start going up faster. If we legalize cannabis, I think people will voluntarily jump into tubes. :) 5.) Yes you are right, another leading cause of death is heart disease, and subsequently the government should control our eating. They are on that already, (http://www.msnbc.msn.com...), NY just passed a transfat bill banning transfat. But you see, the government didnt ban coffee, you can take as much of that drug (caffeine) as you want, cause it doesn't lead you to harm other people. Smoking does (secondhand smoke), that is why that too is banned in all restaurants in NY, and in a lot of states in the US, but you aren't stopped from smoking at home. (http://en.wikipedia.org...) 6.) You sure have the right to break religious laws, but do we want more friction in society? 7.) Im referring to both accidental use and conscious use of marijuana by kids. If they see it lying around in the house, they can take it and use it. You may argue that it is the parent's responsibility then, and what you argue for is for adults to use the drug. What I say is, the legalization of cannabis will mean that using the drug is more casual, like alcohol. Not all people lock up their alcohol in locked cabinets, in fact most people like it chilled in a refrigerator. Kids can gain access out of curiosity too. 8.) To show a little evidence towards the "gateway theory", let me end with a series of quotes: "Prof Yasmin Hurd, Dr Sabrina Spano and Dr Maria Ellgren, working at the Karolinksa Institute, in Sweden, have demonstrated that cannabis can enhance future sensitivity to heroin." "Studying events in the brain of adolescent rats after cannabis exposure, they found that the drug affects the brain's natural chemicals, called endogenous opioids. The chemicals are known to play a role in heightening positive emotions and creating a sense of reward. That is the same system that is stimulated by hard drugs and is also present in humans." "The Swedish team's results show that the brain may "remember" previous cannabis usage and make users vulnerable to harder drugs later in life, specifically opioids such as heroin and morphine." (http://www.telegraph.co.uk...) "The results of a new study have bolstered the theory that marijuana is a "gateway" drug with evidence showing that those who use marijuana before age 17 are two to five times more likely to use, abuse, or become dependent on other drugs." "They may also have had "safe" experiences—that is, their parents or law enforcement officials did not discover the youngster's marijuana use. This "may reduce the perceived risk of, and therefore barriers to, the use of other drugs," according to the report." http://pn.psychiatryonline.org...