drug legalization

I'm happy to be discussing this issue with you as it is a subject I can very closely relate to. Your English is just fine also and it is a pleasure to meet you. With all due respect to your argument and position I don't believe the government has either the right nor the moral authority to prohibit what substances people put into their bodies for either medicinal or recreational or other purposes. Practically, the war on drugs has been a dismal failure. Just like prohibitions on alcohol, gambling, prostitution, etc., they do not work. They push the activity underground and create opportunities for the criminal element and, likewise, opportunities for the corruption of police and other public officials. Generally, such laws are enforced inconsistently and to the detriment of the most vulnerable individuals in society. You have listed many health issues with marijuana which there is no argument against. But statistically speaking aspirin kills more people annually around the world than does marijuana. In practical terms, marijuana cannot induce a lethal response as a result of drug-related toxicity but yet remains illegal. Aspirin, alcohol, even Tylenol all of which are perfectly legal I cannot say the same for. At present it is estimated that marijuana's LD-50 is around 1:20,000 or 1:40,000. In layman terms this means that in order to induce death a marijuana smoker would have to consume 20,000 to 40,000 times as much marijuana as is contained in one marijuana cigarette. NIDA-supplied marijuana cigarettes weigh approximately .9 grams. A smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response. This means it is almost impossible to kill yourself smoking marijuana even if you tried. 1) Nearly all medicines have toxic, potentially lethal effects. But marijuana is not such a substance. There is no record in the extensive medical literature describing a proven, documented cannabis-induced fatality. The record on marijuana encompasses 5,000 years of human experience. Marijuana is now used daily by enormous numbers of people throughout the world. Estimates suggest that from twenty million to fifty million Americans routinely, albeit illegally, smoke marijuana without the benefit of direct medical supervision. Yet, despite this long history of use and the extraordinarily high numbers of social smokers, there are simply no credible medical reports to suggest that consuming marijuana has caused a single death. The leading causes of death in 2000 were tobacco (435,000 deaths; 18.1% of total US deaths), poor diet and physical inactivity (400,000 deaths; 16.6%), and alcohol consumption (85,000 deaths; 3.5%). Other actual causes of death were microbial agents (75,000), toxic agents (55,000), motor vehicle crashes (43,000), incidents involving firearms (29,000), sexual behaviors (20,000), and illicit use of drugs (17,000). Tobacco causes 18.1% of total deaths in the US. But it is legal with a warning that it can kill you. Why can the same not be done with cannabis? personally I have been around all types of people and drugs. Drinking brings out the worst in people. When alcohol is heavily consumed people can barely walk, much less drive or do anything productive. When I am around a group of people who are smoking marijuana we all laugh and get really hungry and eat. I passed my certification and licence exam for massage therapy with flying colors whilst high on marijuana. I studied for months before the test high also. The weed helps me concentrate. My best friend and roommate used to suffer severely from depression. I introduced him to marijuana and I have never seen a guy with a better outlook on life. What I am trying to get at is that there are much much worse things out there that are legal and it upsets me that marijuana is so looked down upon for mainly health issues less lethal then common over the counter drugs. 1) http://druglibrary.net...