Marijuana Should be Legalized in the United States of America.

.. To begin with, I am going to evaluate his sources. My opponent sites sources such as: www. drugabuse. gov www. abovetheinfluence. com www. teengrowth. com sites that OBVIOUSLY have a bias. this debate is about a subject which the government STRONGLY opposes, and so there really isn't a way that we can credibly site the government, and expect them to be completely honest. Yes, I did use government sources, but they just provide solid facts about yearly fatalities from legal substances, not substances that they stand solidly against. If we were debating the intelegence of African Americans when compared to caucasians, for example, we wouldn't trust a white supremacy site, now would we? In the same way, we cannot trust websites like www. abovetheinfluence. com, because that would be TOTALLY ridiculous! In the same sense, you cannot quote an organisation about something that they were designed to take a stance against! Now that that has been said, allow me to take apart this semi-truthful warped view of the so called "facts". "Prohibition of Marijuana does control consumption of it because it severely limits ACCESS to it. People who are addicted to Marijuana will go to extreme costs and pay even more to have access to the drug, but legalizing it would mean everyone would have constant access to it and then millions of more pe0ple would increase the number of those addicted to the drug and the side effects it causes. .. .. " To begin, I do not see any proof that marijuana is addictive, at all! I have personally, (along with the majority of the people I know) have used marijuana for YEARS, and I have had to quit for a while (either for court, or a job interview, etc. ) and have NEVER experienced physical withdrawal that an addict would feel. Yes, if you use marijuana every day like I have before, and then abruptly stopped, then you will see some differences, but that happens with everything, including soda. Does that stand to reason that we can become addicted to soda, and therefore will stop at NOTHING to get it? no, because that is ridiculous. Also, if a substance is that harmful to your body, and it is something that people wouldn't do normally, what makes you think that legalizing that substance would cause more people to do it? If heroine were to become legal tomorrow, I still would not use it. I do not need the government to save me from myself, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. as far as it limiting access, that is a complete lie. Marijuana is generally in the top 10, if not the number one cash crop in pretty much every state in the union. This excerpt was taken from abcnews. com: "Contrasting government figures for traditional crops -- like corn and wheat -- against the study's projections for marijuana production, the report cites marijuana as the top cash crop in 12 states and among the top three cash crops in 30. " The study estimates that marijuana production, at a value of $35.8 billion, exceeds the combined value of corn ($23.3 billion) and wheat ($7.5 billion). Now, how in any way is that limited? "1 in 6 teenage marijuana users become addicted" This is actually based on teenagers who are in rehab for marijuana. Now, the reason those teens are in rehab is because they are given two options by most judges: Do a CRAZY amount of time in jail, where you have no freedoms, or go to rehab, where you can usually still get to live at home, and still have a lot of the freedoms you wouldn't if you were in prison. Now, what would that teen choose? "Marijuana deteriorates memory, attention, and learning skills" cite one study that proves this. "People who have used the drug feel less physically and mentally healthy" actually, speaking from personal opinion, it actually helps me become more creative, and do things like write stories, ( or debate. :D ) and I have not had any negative effects that I can name. Things like poor diet can also make you feel this way, but we shouldn't go around trying to make Cheetos illegal, now should we? "As of 2012 guess how many deaths in the US involved Marijuana" now, if you will, please tell me where you got these statistics for a year that hasn't even happened yet? Until you can, then please do not cite whatever study THAT was. now, I think that I have refuted my opponents arguments adequately. thank you for your time!