Marjuana should be legal with a few restrictions.

Thanks for the interesting statement Pro. Ave!1.) TAX DOLLARS SAVED VS. TAX DOLLARS WASTEDYou are correct that legalization would procure a certain amount of tax revenue, although as you can see, specific amounts are highly disputed between sources. The Businessweek estimate is likely off by a great deal, as it assumes the legal price of marijuana would be equal to its illegal price. The black market does a great deal to keep prices higher. It’s predicted that they would fall hard and fast in the event of legalization, likely by more than 80 percent [1]. Therefore, the accurate amount of tax revenue is probably closer to the Cato estimate. Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, it is roughly $10 billion annually (which is still a highly generous estimate). Proponents of legalization still declare that this amount of money is nothing to scoff at, especially in a time of monstrous national debt. However, they fail to take into account new costs which would be created by legalization. These included tremendous amounts of tax dollars spent on new beauracracies to carry out the regulation you suggest. Though the numbers are unknown, I’m sure we can agree they would be fairly significant.The Federal Gov’t. takes in roughly $9 billion in taxes on alcohol annually [2]. This profit is offset, however, by severely high social costs. This totals less than ten percent of the money spent on alcohol related health care, criminal justice costs for alcohol-influenced crimes, and lost productivity in the workplace. These costs for marijuana, even if not as drastic, would no doubt be enough to completely offset any tax revenue, or reduce it to a miniscule figure.Yes, perhaps there will be some highly insignificant gov’t revenue gained from legalization. Regardless, passing laws with severe social ramifications from only a financial standpoint is dangerous. 2.) MARIJUANA IS MILD IN COMPARISON TO LEGAL DRUGS, SUCH AS ALCOHOLYou seem bent on comparing the health risks of marijuana to those of alcohol and cigarettes. While financial comparisons are necessary to make an educated guess at the financial nature of marijuana legalization, adverse health effects are a different story. While perhaps less dangerous than alcohol(in some respects) this brings up no qualms about the legal status of marijuana. The fact that a slightly more dangerous drug is legal does not justify adding another harmful substance into the mix. If anything, this should raise questions about alcohol’s legality, but again, the pros/cons of alcohol are irrelevant to this debate. Marijuana’s effects should be judged based on the harm they cause alone, not simply by the fact that they’re supposedly “mild in comparison” to something else. An assertion which is largely untrue anyway.You are incorrect that marijuana use does not damage the brain. There have been studies saying as much, but they are contested by other, similarly reliable studies. A very recent one of which (January 2013) linked marijuana use over time to decreased IQ and damage in the hippocampal section of the brain [3]“Many people die from alcohol use. Nobody dies from marijuana use.”You are correct only to some extent. Nobody dies from marijuana OVERDOSE. Its use, however, is responsible for many deaths due to motor vehicle accidents/poor judgment in general. Recent studies have found that driving under the influence of marijuana nearly doubles the risk of a fatal crash [4].Legalization would only increase the amount of users, thus inevitably increasing the amount of irresponsible users.“Cannabis, unlike tobacco smoke, has not been linked with cancer.”Another unfounded assumption. Certain studies have suggested this, but many others have shown the exact opposite. It has certainly been “linked”. From the Cancer Research Foundation of the UK: Cannabis smoke contains many of the same cancer causing substances (carcinogens) as tobacco - at least 50 of them [5]. Some studies have even shown marijuana smoke to contain 50 – 70 percent more carcinogens than tobacco smoke [2].3.) CANNABIS IS NOT ADDICTIVE First of all, my opponent falsely claims in his title that cannabis is not addictive, then goes on to reference addiction statistics.His claim that marijuana is far less addictive than caffeine may well be true. However, this carries little significance when assessing and comparing the overall risk factor of the two.Addiction to caffeine is relatively harmless, as evidenced by the millions of people who are supposedly part of this category, and the overwhelming lack of acknowledgment by most that such an addiction even exists (i.e. rarely do you find someone in rehab for “caffeine addiction”). Marijuana dependance, on the other hand, can bring more serious consequences, as it is much stroinger/more damaging. Negative effects of marijuana [6]: (almost all apparent in small doses)-Distorted perceptions, causing trouble driving/generally functioning-Trouble with thinking and problem solving-Disorientation-Hallucinations/Delusions (moderate to high doses)-Risk of developing cancer in the long termNegative effects of caffeine [7]: (experienced only with higher doses)-Anxiety- Mild insomnia-Accelerated heart beat-Increased urinationAs you can see, the lower addiction ratio of marijuana compared to caffeine is inconsequential in the face of larger considerations like the effect of each drug on an individual, and on society.4.) MARIJUANA WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS ARE NOT ANY WORSE THAN CAFFEINE WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS My opponent is correct that marijuana and caffeine withdrawal symptoms are somewhat similar, but he also again fails to look deeper into the issue.While a few of the symptoms are the same, those experienced in marijuana withdrawal are on average far more severe. The WebMD article he cited even makes the distinction between caffeine and street drugs, (marijuana being one of the latter).This is reinforced by the statistics of people whose addictions and withdrawals are bad enough that they seek professional treatment. According to drug-rehabs.com, marijuana users make up 16.1% of all rehab admissions [8]. Admissions of caffeine users into rehab are virtually unheard of. Hence, while many of the withdrawal symptoms are the same, those of marijuana are almost certainly “worse”. 5.) LEGALIZING MARIJUANA WILL RESULT IN SAFER MARIJUANA PURCHASESMy opponent claims that legalization will protect potential buyers from the risks of a black market purchase, which I agree with. However, this is a small victory compared to all areas that will suffer with legalization; including crime rates. Arrests for alcohol related offenses totaled nearly 2.7 million in 2008 [2]. Marijuana-related arrests (not only possession) for the same year were about 850,000 persons [9]. Legalzation will only increase the amount of users, a result that my opponent and myself agree upon. This upward trent in users will increase the amount of crime stemming from use, as is the case with alcohol.I have pointed out numerous inconsistencies in my opponent's argument and shown that, rather than the benefits of legalization outweighing the costs, the exact opposite is true.Vale!Sources:[1] http://www.rand.org...[2] http://www.whitehouse.gov...[3] http://www.drugabuse.gov...[4] http://healthland.time.com...[5] http://www.cancerresearchuk.org...[6] http://alcoholism.about.com...[7] http://www.wisegeek.org...;[8] http://www.drug-rehabs.com...[9] http://norml.org...