cannabis should be legalized.

Although some of my opponents points are valid, they (in my opinion) are not sufficient to prove that cannabis should stay illegal. I have no comment on #1 other than "paranoia" is likely because of the legal status of the drug. Robbing a bank does not cause paranoia, the paranoia is caused by the possibility of getting caught. #2 is completely false. First:"Marijuana smokers tend to hold in the smoke longer than cigarette smokers" this is true, but you will later see that that is not a bad thing. My problem with this is that even if cannabis had the exact same effect as tobacco, the risks are far outweighed by the fact that on average cigarette users smoke about 9 cigarettes daily, while average cannabis use was only a joint or two a few times a month. second:obviously cannabis is not only ingested through smoke. You are able to bake it into common things like cookies, brownies, and cupcakes. third:"If marijuana is smoked, it heavily increased the chance of getting cancer" and "users have an increased chance of getting cancer in the areas around the lung and neck" completely false. studies by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham say that while cannabis contains some of the same chemicals as tobacco, it does not carry the same risks for lung disease. So refer to this for any further claims of lung disease. Onto lung cancer, Pulmonary research on use of cannabis and interaction with the lungs was funded by the Federal Government to prove that lung cancer is caused by smoking cannabis, however the results proved cannabis does not cause lung cancer. And on the second quote, how about you put the whole f*** thing, it says after that "that study could not be confirmed by further analysis." #3 one personal experience does not prove anything. But if that is the angle we are taking here, first, I don't believe you. Am I actually to believe that once you stopped smoking weed, you went from a 82 to a 100? Were you going to class high or something? My personal experience was that before I started smoking weed I had about a 95 in freshman calculus ab. This is a very advanced class for a 9th grader so I would come home with a headache every day. Then I tried weed. It had no effect on my grades, but I stopped having headaches. Also, you didn't need to explain to me what having good grades does for your future. #4 I agree that it can cause mental addiction, but that is extremely common. Almost anything can cause a mental addiction. Just to name a few, any medicine, food, drinks, drugs, and sex. Mental addiction is not controlling, mental addiction is liking a feeling, then seeking that feeling again. This is not something that you will have to go to rehab for. The addiction that people go to rehab for is physical addiction (being dependent on a particular substance, and unable to stop taking it without incurring adverse effects) "more and more people are going into marijuana rehabilitation." Come on!!! Do some research before you make claims like this. When someone gets arrested for cannabis, they get a choice sometimes. Rehab, or jail. Hmmmmmm... hard choice right... Get raped in the a** every night... Or talk about your non-existent addiction... Idk they both sound pretty awesome. 85% of people in rehab for cannabis got in there because of a court order. (they consider any cannabis use cannabis abuse) #5 "A number of studies have shown an association between chronic marijuana use and increased rates of anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia" I don't have enough time to fact check all of these, so I will assume that you aren't misinformed or lying "If marijuana was not present, people would not have to risk being diagnosed with these mental disorders." I'm sorry but this is f*** ridiculous. Do you even know what these are? Anxiety: causes include phobias, depression, and stress. Depression: I could go on for hours listing causes. Schizophrenia:not enough research to support any claims yet, but there are children with schizophrenia that have never tried cannabis so again, false. "Therefore, it benefits the people of society more to keep marijuana illegal." no. You can't just say ibuprofen makes people choke sometimes. Therefore no ibuprofen=no choking. Therefore, it benefits the people of society more to make ibuprofen illegal. Because you don't just say there are negatives so it's bad, you weigh the bad against the good and see if overall it would be beneficial. Beginning: "I will assume that we are debating the legalization of cannabis in the representative democratic government of the United States"yes thank you for clarifying, I realize now I did not specify that. "So if keeping cannabis illegal benefits most (51%) of the population more than harm it, then cannabis should stay illegal" in some cases yes, but be open to majority is not always right. If it was then slavery would still be legal. But for this debate, I think majority rules would not be a fair way to look at it. If that's the way you want to look at it though then fine. 81% of americans have tried cannabis. And I think it would benefit people to not be in jail. I think a better way would be if the positive effects outway the negative effects, then it is beneficial overall and vice-versa. Ending: "From what I have stated, it clearly seems like the people of a representative democracy would benefit more if marijuana was illegal than if marijuana was legal." I guess we will have to leave that up to the voters "I take this upon the fact that if marijuana was illegal, people would use it less" false. U.S. (cannabis is illegal) Lifetime prevalence of marijuana use (ages 12+) 36.9% Past month prevalence of marijuana use (ages 12+) 5.4% Amsterdam (cannabis is legal) Lifetime prevalence of marijuana use (ages 12+) 17% Past month prevalence of marijuana use (ages 12+) 3% "Although it may seem like people should be left alone to use marijuana because they want to and it makes them happy, this is not so. What someone thinks is the best for them might actually not be best for them. For example, a mad man may think that a gun would be best for his current situation, however, this does not mean that you give him the gun" flawed analogy from the ground up. Sorry to use an analogy on an analogy but this is like if I said "giving you a sofa is like giving John Wayne Gacy a knife" A better analogy for you would be you saying "giving someone weed is like giving someone a knife in a room made of rubber with no door, and also there is alot of controversy on weather this knife actually can harm anyone" you implied that if you give people weed then they will kill people (false). Like I said, there would be no way to even kill themselves unless you gave them 120,000 joints and forced them to smoke them right there in 15 min. "Remember, laws are made to benefit the majority, and not to make everyone happy." no. some are, but some need to be made because it is wrong to keep/make whatever it is legal or illegal. "Also, just because one is benefited does not mean that he is happy. A cigarette addict who is benefiting from quitting may not be so happy." again, can't get addicted to weed, and with this we can both benefit and be happy. "Would society benefit more with or without marijuana?" just to answer your question, with. "Having said all this, it is clear that marijuana will harm more than benefit the majority of a representative democracy. " That isn't clear to me. Post in the comments if you think it is clear, and if I'm alone on this one, but it doesn't seem clear at all to me. Sources: Lot's of sources used, tell me if you need the location of something specific