Marijuana Legalization

1. The substances Please cite one scientific study that shows marijuana to be addictive. You claim there are over 10,000, yet fail to reference a single one. I have used cannabis in the past and found it in no way addictive. Studies actually show marijuana to be not addictive. http://www.cannabismd.net... We shouldn't rely on what the government claims to know about marijuana. Just because a court flooded with years of legal precedent kept things the way they are is not an indictment of marijuana. Rather than relying on a government agency, we should look at concrete scientific evidence, which I have provided, to make a determination. I realize there are negative health effects to smoking marijuana, just like there are with tobacco. Still, tobacco is infinitely more dangerous with thousands of chemical additives and a level of addiction that can hardly be matched in the casual drug culture. Also, people smoke less cannabis than cigarettes. While someone may get high on weekends, smokers choke down a pack a day or more. If you have ever partaken in cannabis, you will surely agree that alcohol impairs you exponentially more. Alcohol is also more addictive than marijuana and causes bad health effects as well. Also, the simple fact that marijuana impaires is not a health effect, several things, like anesthesia, impair you without causing harmful effects. Both of these substances are legal, but because of legal precedent marijuana remains illegal. While the use of these drugs may be harmful, the legality of tobacco and alcohol demonstrate the civil liberties we should have in this country. A person should feel free to impair themselves in any way as long as it doesn't harm others, which I will address below. 2. Economy You don't provide any evidence that legalization would decrease employee productivity. Alcohol is legal, but people can't come to work hammered every day. I'm not sure what you mean by 'accidents', but you should not be able to drive under the influence of anything, which I specified in my opening round. The only viable argument you make here is on health care costs. While your argument stands to reason; that more smokers means more sick people and higher health care costs, the cost is overwhelmingly offset by the money we would make and save by not having to enforce marijuana prohibition ($7.7 billion!!!) and the tax revenue generated ($6.2 billion!!!). Yes, that's billion, with a B. So, society would benefit incredibly financially. Also, check out the article I cited below, over 500 economists including Milton Freidman just sent a letter to the feds supporting legalization. 3. Criminals I think you are misunderstanding my argument. Right now, marijuana is surging in popularity, making more and more casual users deal with dangerous criminals. Legalization would stop this. Also, the funding criminals and criminal organizations receive from dealing drugs like marijuana is astronomical; so when we legalize it, all of that criminal funding disappears. 4. Quality/ Medical This is where you make the bulk of your argument. I'm not advocating the medical use of marijuana as the sole reason to legalize it. But, there are people who use it, whether advisedly so or not. So, those people that choose to use it for medical use would have access to better weed at lower costs. If marijuana shortens the lifespan of someone with AIDS or cancer, maybe people with AIDS and cancer shouldn't smoke pot. I'm not forcing it down people's throats, just making it available to those who do choose to partake. 5. Civil Liberties Its not the government's job to protect us from ourselves, simply to protect me from other citizens and vice verse. What I choose to do with my own life and well-being is my business. The government realizes this in some areas, like abortion, but fails to apply it here because of the foregone stigma that accompanies marijuana. Also, society needs to realize a level of significance here. When I say 'harm someone else', there needs to be substantial reason to strip someone of their rights. Slightly increased health care costs doesn't seem substantial, especially considering the money we would actually make. Also, there are countless other more harmful vices, especially when it comes to health care, such as heart disease, the number one killer in America. Should we ban trans fat and run Mickey D's out of town because of an increase in health care costs? Seems like they are doing far more damage than smokers. ------------------------------------------------ You have provided NO evidence to lead me to believe that marijuana causes accelerated death or metal disorders and certainly not WWIII or the failure of humankind. The one citation you make is for the Department of Justice homepage and contains absolutely NO information relevant to the debate. ------------------------------------------------ Counter-Resolution Your resolution, if it does at all, would only solve for cigarettes. Marijuana doesn't have any nicotine and nicotine is hardly the reason people do drugs. People smoke pot because they enjoy the high that THC gives them. Marijuana is picked right from the plant and delivered to your door, no chemical additives as you claim. This resolution just shows how radical and widespread the misconceptions of cannabis are. Also, you would need a lot of funding for scientific research etc., money that we don't have. So, not only does the resolution not solve for the case; it costs more and fails to generate any revenue in return. Thanks for the cogent response, looking forward to another one. http://www.cannabismd.net... http://economics.about.com...