Should We Legalize Marijuana

We all recognize that smoking is a dirty habit that makes you die younger while drinking is a potentially dangerous habit that leads to hundreds of thousands of deaths per year, but we want to condone pot use on top of that? That's like saying you've got a bad back and a bad shoulder; so why not break your knee cap to top it all off. How many lives are we willing to flush down the drain because a significant number of Americans tried pot a handful of times in their lives, got away with it and now feel guilty about it? One hundred for every person in prison? 1000? 10,000? There's a reason pot was made illegal in the first place and quite frankly, the only reason alcohol and cigarettes are legal is because they're so deeply ingrained in our society that we can't get rid of them. Marijuana should remain illegal because of its addictiveness, poor results after legalization in other countries, and most importantly, the harmful effects it has on the human body. Dr. Drew Pinsky is a practicing doctor who has dealt with addicts before and has clearly stated that "It would be malpractice to say that cannabis isn't addictive. Anybody who's experienced it, actually been addicted to it, knows how profound that addiction is.... The difficult thing about marijuana addiction is some people, even though they're addicted can do fine with it for many many years before they start to have difficultly, but eventually the high starts wearing off, people start smoking a lot more to try to get that high back and that's when they descend into difficulties. ...I've been treating cannabis addiction for 20 years. When people are addicted to cannabis, cocaine and alcohol the drug they have the most difficult time giving up is the cannabis. It is extremely addictive...for some people. I think that's where people get confused. It's not very addictive for many people. It's a small subset of people with a genetic potential for addiction. But for them it is really tough. You only need talk to them, they'll tell you how tough it is." If America legalized pot, the numbers will just get "higher", converting the nation to a whole new nation, and not in a good way. Another reason why marijuana should stay illegal is because of the effect it will have on the country. Humans being what they are, just about any stupid idea we can come up with has already been tried somewhere else. Amsterdam is the most famous place across the world that has effectively legalized pot. It has even turned into a tourist destination for potheads. Legalizing weed has been a huge success there, right? Actually, not so much. Amsterdam has had many pot- related issues come about in the past years. The Dutch have had to restrict the plant in many places. Students were arriving to class high, and the issue of whether they should or shouldn't have to right to smoke it forced the Amsterdam mayor to ban it in all schools. Additionally, contrary to the claims that legalizing it will reduce crime, in Amsterdam, it's been found that crime is now centering around the coffeeshops where weed is sold. That doesn't exactly sound like a success story, does it? The final, and most important, reason marijuana should stay illegal is because of the harmful effects it has on the human body. Marijuana may even be WORSE than cigarettes. At least cigarettes don't peel off IQ points. A recent Northwestern University study found that marijuana users have abnormal brain structure and poor memory and that chronic marijuana abuse may lead to brain changes resembling schizophrenia. The study also reported that the younger the person starts using marijuana, the worse the effects become. In its own report arguing against marijuana legalization, the American Medical Association said: "Heavy cannabis use in adolescence causes persistent impairments in neurocognitive performance and IQ, and use is associated with increased rates of anxiety, mood and psychotic thought disorders." And it just gets worse. Cannibus messes not only with mental health, but physical as well. Even small amounts of marijuana can result in temporary sterility and it has a terrible impact on the babies of women who smoke. The babies are at very high risk of birth defects, mental abnormalities, and leukemia. If your standard is, "Well, it's better for you than Meth or Crack," that's true, but you're deluding yourself if you think pot is anything other than absolutely horrible for your health. Movies portray potheads as harmless, fun-loving people who spend their time giggling and munching Cheetos, but they don't show these people when they're flunking out of school, losing their jobs, frustrated because they can't concentrate or losing the love of their lives because they just don't want to be with a pot smoking loser anymore. And now the government is persuaded by this and wants to legalize it? The only group that will benefit from legalizing and taxing marijuana is the government. Legalizing marijuana is definitely not worth the risks, from health, to legal issues. Sources http://ic.galegroup.com...