Medical Marijuana is, on balance, an effective medicine

I have looked at your arguments, and they appear centered around making marijuana legal, which will somehow stop drug trafficking, which is nonsense. And, even if somehow the US miraculously makes marijuana legal in all 50 states and D.C. (which will never happen), that does not mean we will have a drastic reduction in the money spent fighting drugs and related crimes, which you claim are trillions of dollars (it is actually significantly less than that per year - under $30 billion per year). We will still have to spend billions annually to stop all the illegally activities done by Mexican Drug Cartels including the sale of other drugs and tons of Mexican marijuana, which will still be distributed in the US. http://www.timeanddate.com... And, your belief that marijuana really isn't that bad of a drug or that addictive or that harmful is hardly supported by any reliable current medical research. Marijuana has a high potential for abuse; its use for medical purposes is under serious rebuke; and, there are no acceptable safety standards, even under medical supervision, for marijuana, which is why it is classified as a Schedule I substance. It may not be as addictive as heroin or cocaine, but it is still addictive and more readily available to children, which makes it a much more dangerous addictive drug that needs stricter controls - prohibition, not legalization for any reason! https://www.ncjrs.gov... And, prohibition along with other programs worked in China to stop opium addiction in 1956; so prohibition can work if done properly, like in China. http://www.sacu.org... 1.Your comment that marijuana comprises nearly 60% of all cartel profits is at least 2 to 4 times greater than the actual percentage according to a study done by the Rand Drug Policy Research Center; their study indicates that the actual percentage is from 15% to 26%. http://www.ycsg.yale.edu... "Some experts on organized crime in Latin America, like Edgardo Buscaglia, say that cartels earn just half their income from drugs." http://www.nytimes.com... You forgot to mention that Mexican Drug Cartels make billions from sex trafficking, extortion, stolen goods (even crude oil), kidnapping, etc. http://kosmo.hubpages.com... After booze probation ended in on December 5, 1933, did the Mafia end? Of course not! But, you think that if the sale of marijuana is somehow miraculously legalized in all 50 states, the Mexican and American gang cartels will just slowly fade away? Much of the Trillions (actually a few billion per year) you claim are spent by the US and state government fighting Drug Cartels is spent fighting organized crime in the USA " the Mafia and street gangs. 2.There are better ways of regulating the substance for the benefit of society. Really, what are they? Do you really think that licensing vendors in Washington State and Colorado or even all 50 states is going to stop the Mexican Cartels or local street distributors from going legitimate and getting licenses or intimating legal vendors buying from them? Do you actually think they will stop trying to sell drugs? Do you actually think that American marijuana connoisseurs will stop buying high quality Mexican dope? How exactly are the growing and selling of American marijuana going to be controlled at the wholesale and retail levels? Then there is the issue of the limited amount of marijuana that one can have in one"s possession at one time, which is 1 ounce in Washington and Colorado (1 ounce and 6 plants). Won't local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies still have to monitor that and arrest people for violations? And, there will still be tons (pun intended) of violations. As I stated in another blog, most of the people in prison for drugs are not the casual marijuana users - they are violent drug dealing, or drug addicted criminals (who started stealing and doing other crimes to feed their addictions). http://www.prisonpolicy.org... How will the government control that? Will it work like prescription drugs? You can't get a refill on most prescriptions until the quantity, usually 30-90 pills runs outs. This is especially true of prescriptions that are considered a narcotic, which are usually limited to 30 pills at once, even sleep-aid drugs like Temazepam. You try to refill it before 25 days or earlier and the pharmacist will tell you that it is too early and you have to wait. So, the pharmacist would have to tell the marijuana user that they bought 1 ounce ten days ago or whatever time period is legally allowed and it is too early to buy another ounce, you will have to wait. Do you really think most pot smokers will accept those type controls? So will all the vendors in Colorado and Washington have to be set-up like pharmacies with a vast computerized system to track marijuana sales? Or, better yet, only pharmacies can distribute marijuana. This would save money because the drug tracking system is already in place. And, if it is considered medical marijuana then the insurance coverage could be verified and the pot would be free or with small co-pay. That is a great idea; but, I bet you don't like that, or do you? But again, how many marijuana users will want to be tracked in a computerized system? You are going to say now, they don't need to be, right? Actually, what has happened in Portugal and the Netherlands is that many drug users still buy their marijuana and other illegal drugs illegally from drug dealers because they can buy in larger amounts. Then there is the issue of the strength and price of the marijuana. Will the weed sold by the licensed vendors be strong enough and cheap enough? If not, many users will still buy from the local drug dealers. There would be a price war between legal American marijuana vendors and illegal dealers. Even if the marijuana is strong and cheap enough, probably most folks will not want their marijuana use tracked by the government, and they will buy the marijuana illegally from the Mexican drug cartel dealers in the US. So, your alternative system fails every time. Tougher criminal sanctions and more drug education are needed, e.g., life in jail for all drug dealers - even first offenders, mandatory drug classes starting in 1st grade, mandatory neighborhood study groups about the evils of marijuana, which is how China solved it opium problem by 1956. Allowing marijuana to be grown legally in the US is not the answer. And, you make this point that marijuana use reached its peak in 1979. Yes, I saw that study by Norml; but, so what? Dec. 19, 2012 -- A new survey shows marijuana use by teens remains high, and officials say it will probably increase as a result of Washington and Colorado decriminalizing the drug last month. "Based on what we know ... we are predicting that it"s going to go up," says Nora Volkow, MD, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "Just the fact that there are some states that have made it legal ... will send a message" to teens throughout the country. "Already, the proportion of teens who consider marijuana to be harmful is the lowest it"s been in decades, according to the 2012 "Monitoring the Future" survey of eighth, 10th, and 12th graders. The annual survey of teen drug use is conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan." http://teens.webmd.com... The Federal Prohibition on Marijuana needs to remain and more education is needed starting in 1st grade to explain the evils of smoking pot, doing any illegal drugs, and Alcohol abuse. This needs to be a required class, in all grades - 1 through 12. Our children should be taught that "Clean and Sober" is the best way to live life.