The use of cannabis for recreational use by those over 18 should be disallowed by the USG*

You know what, you are actually right - that I have not pointed out whether legalizing, or decriminalizing marijuana use will lead to its increase. So therefore I'll focus a substantiative part of this to that. According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (http://www.usdoj.gov...) "During the 19th Century, morphine was legally refined from opium and hailed as a miracle drug. Many soldiers on both sides of the Civil War who were given morphine for their wounds became addicted to it, and this increased level of addiction continued throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth. In 1880, many drugs, including opium and cocaine, were legal — and, like some drugs today, seen as benign medicine not requiring a doctor's care and oversight. Addiction skyrocketed. There were over 400,000 opium addicts in the U.S. That is twice as many per capita as there are today" So from the extract above, we can see one example of when legalization led to higher numbers of addicts. Check out what prohibition does: "Specific federal drug legislation and oversight began with the 1914 Harrison Act, the first broad anti-drug law in the United States. Enforcement of this law contributed to a significant decline in narcotic addiction in the United States. Addiction in the United States eventually fell to its lowest level during World War II, when the number of addicts is estimated to have been somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000. Many addicts, faced with disappearing supplies, were forced to give up their drug habits." Alright, so now we see that the anti-drug law, and the subsequent enforcement led to a massive drop of drug addicts. Not surprisingly again, during the Alaska experiment when marijuana was legalized is shown below: "The consequences of legalization became evident when the Alaska Supreme Court ruled in 1975 that the state could not interfere with an adult's possession of marijuana for personal consumption in the home. The court's ruling became a green light for marijuana use. Although the ruling was limited to persons 19 and over, teens were among those increasingly using marijuana. According to a 1988 University of Alaska study, the state's 12 to 17-year-olds used marijuana at more than twice the national average for their age group. Alaska's residents voted in 1990 to recriminalize possession of marijuana, demonstrating their belief that increased use was too high a price to pay." To highlight, it said "Although the ruling was limited to persons 19 and over (ADULTS), teens were among those increasingly using marijuana... the state's 12 to 17-year-olds used marijuana more than twice the national average"!!! That statistic in itself is shocking! An actual failed social experiment that ruined a lot of people's lives. Do we seriously, seriously want that again?! This time for the entire nation?! more crackpot children, and more crackpots in general. Ladies and gentlemen, history is already telling us, can we listen to it, legalizing marijuana will lead to more pot addicts, it is a fact. Here are more historical failed social experiments on legalizing marijuana. 'By 1979, after 11 states decriminalized marijuana and the Carter administration had considered federal decriminalization, marijuana use shot up among teenagers. That year, almost 51 percent of 12th graders reported they used marijuana in the last 12 months. By 1992, with tougher laws and increased attention to the risks of drug abuse, that figure had been reduced to 22 percent, a 57 percent decline." Again, its the kids that had an increase in taking these drugs. "The Netherlands is not alone. Switzerland, with some of the most liberal drug policies in Europe, experimented with what became known as Needle Park. Needle Park became the Mecca for drug addicts throughout Europe, an area where addicts could come to openly purchase drugs and inject heroin without police intervention or control. The rapid decline in the neighborhood surrounding Needle Park, with increased crime and violence, led authorities to finally close Needle Park in 1992." To quote from above, the neighborhoods surrounding the legalized drug area experienced "increase crime and violence". No surprise again. "The British have also had their own failed experiments with liberalizing drug laws. England's experience shows that use and addiction increase with "harm reduction" policy. Great Britain allowed doctors to prescribe heroin to addicts, resulting in an explosion of heroin use, and by the mid-1980s, known addiction rates were increasing by about 30 percent a year." Even the English have tried, same results, increase in users post-legalization. "It's clear from history that periods of lax controls are accompanied by more drug abuse and that periods of tight controls are accompanied by less drug abuse." You are right, not all cannabis users have committed violent crime. But on the other hand, not all cannabis users have not committed violent crime. As the "Needle Point" study pointed above, and as common sense dictates that there will be people who will drive after smoking up (its unavoidable) and there will be people who might react more violently because they have just smoked pot (you can't say this number is zero either), therefore, do we really want this in our society. Another thing is, we know through the evidence that history (see above) and science (with the opiates) provide, that legalization will lead to an increase in use, meaning more pot smoking citizens. Lets look at the effect as quoted from the US Drug Enforcement Agency (http://www.usdoj.gov...) 'Those are the long-term effects of marijuana. The short-term effects are also harmful. They include: memory loss, distorted perception, trouble with thinking and problem solving, loss of motor skills, decrease in muscle strength, increased heart rate, and anxiety. Marijuana impacts young people's mental development, their ability to concentrate in school, and their motivation and initiative to reach goals. And marijuana affects people of all ages: Harvard University researchers report that the risk of a heart attack is five times higher than usual in the hour after smoking marijuana." Do we want our youths, or adults; whether they are our business partners, relatives, neighbors and celebrity idols, to suffer "memory loss, distorted perception, trouble with thinking and problem solving, loss of motor skills.. " Honestly? A society littered with people like this? Should we regress? I feel we should take a stand against people who believe in making cannabis legal. Let us not undo the progress humanity has made. It is an illicit drug for a reason. In regards to religion, which isn't where we really clashed a lot, but just for the sake of thoroughness, saying that "As far as religious laws go, we have alot of tension already. The personal freedoms that would be gained would be acceptable as compared to the slight tension we would get.", I don't think cuts it. The personal freedom we might get, at the expense of a more broken up world, is not worth it. Besides, its personal freedom to ruin our lives and the community's, why should we fight so hard for something so detrimental. It's not something subjective. You cannot simply state, it is not the government's decision, because it is already when it harms the society as a whole, and I think it shouldn't even stop there, the world must take a stand against illicit drugs for the sake of society. You say: "Kids can get into alot of things, the parents should be responsible for cannabis as they should be knives, outlets, and alcohol." I say: why add more dangerous things for them to get their hands on? As a government, we should not provide society with the tools for their own undoing! As a whole, based on my extensive research and evidence provided, it is the worst decision the USG will make if