should we have to be 21 to smoke recreational weed

Hello Con! I accept your debate. Since you didn't specify the requirements for the debate I will make them. Con is arguing that 21 should not be the required age and that rather 18 should be the legal age for smoking recreational marijuana. As pro I will argue that 18 should not be the legal age for smoking recreational marijuana. If pro will have it I will go as far to say that there should not be a legal age because smoking marijuana should be illegal. My stance as Pro is that marijuana's legal age for recreational activities should be much higher than 18 to the point of making it illegal to smoke marijuana. Here are some definitions. smoke: emit smoke or visible vapor. recreational: relating to or denoting activity done for enjoyment when one is not working. Marijuana: cannabis, especially as smoked in cigarettes. Since Con did not assume rules for this debate I will start my arguments and also take the liberty of using points from one of my other debates. If Con can rebut these points then I will delve farther and be more creative with my points but as of every other debate on cannabis these points are always the backbone. With that I present my arguments for my stance which is: 18 should not be the legal age, the age should be at least 21 but preferably marijuana should be illegal. My points are as follow: 1. Marijuana is harmful and addictive. 2. Marijuana can be abused and thus reduces the usefulness of the individuals who take it. (This argument sounds really mean. What I mean to say is that while someone is addicted to this drug they have a noticeable decline in productivity and it takes away from their quality of life.) 3. It damages developing minds. Let me start with my first argument. Marijuana is indeed harmful, addictive and known to be a gateway drug. "Consumption of marijuana impairs the immune system and short-term memory, elevates the risk of heart attack, and causes respiratory and brain damage." http://www.heritage.org...... That seems to pretty much wrap up that argument but for me this isn't enough! So I did some more research and went to http://www.drugabuse.gov....... Long term effects include breathing problems, increased heart rate, problems with child development, hallucinations, paranoia, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and worsening symptoms from individuals that have schizophrenia. The site also points out that marijuana is addictive. Now to put a personal spin on this I will provide examples from my personal life to back up how harmful this drug is. I am in grade 13 of my high school and I can honestly say individuals who have used marijuana have most likely used other drugs such as speed, heroin and meth. These are 9th to 12th graders I am talking about, just imagine what it would be like if this drug was accessible because it was legal? Obviously there would be an age limit but that does not stop youth at all. Now to tie in my second argument, these individuals are the lowest of the low at my school, we are talking drop outs and some cannot even hold a conversation with me because they are so high. Now to add facts into this "Teens who abuse drugs have lower grades, a higher rate of absence from school and other activities, and an increased potential for dropping out of school. " http://www.justthinktwice.com...... This makes sense, I observed how many were acting at my school, the drop outs, the low grades and then compared it to research. They match! This makes it a pretty concrete point. Now for my third argument. If you go back to the same site as my last post it states "...your brain develops until the age of 25? Anything that you do to disrupt this process"including substance"will affect how your brain develops. " and that "When you use drugs, it interferes with the normal traffic patterns that the neurotransmitters use." To me this makes sense as well. To add my closing notes to this round that I took the stance of a student (since I am one) on this topic but marijuana is harmful to adults as well. All of these symptoms apply to minds that have developed and adults who use marijuana show decreased levels of productivity at work as seen on this site. http://learnaboutmarijuanawa.org...... I hope putting my personal experiences in this debate didn't ruined it in any form. Also if you are struggling with drug abuse you may want to go over here http://www.drugandalcoholhelpline.ca...... or here if you are under the age of 18 https://www.kidshelpphone.ca... These points prove that the legal age should be higher (or illegal) as it is harmful at younger ages (and all ages!) With these points I will switch this over to Con, good luck! (Definitions are from a simple google search.)