The continued prohibition of marijuana is far more harmful than the drug itself.

Thank you for this debate. As I am a hard proponent of Drug legislation, I will be happy to accept this debate. First, I shall address my opponents arguments, and then move onto my own. C01: The study does not disprove the "Gateway drug" theory. In fact, when you read the followup results(1), you see that the scientists agree that the "Gateway drug" theory does in fact exist. The article only decreases the statistical number of instances of taking Marijuana which lead to harder drugs, that previously existed. Under "Policy implications", the following is stated: "The results of the DPRC model of drug initiation do not disprove the gateway effect; they merely show that another explanation is plausible. In fact, the researchers note that something like a gateway effect probably does exist, if only because marijuana purchases bring users into contact with a black market that increases access to hard drugs." As I am content with removing any such cause that results to Drug Abuse, I would actively use the "Gateway drug" theory as an argument to prohibit Marijuana usage. C02: According to the same site, 90% of 12th and 10th graders have also claimed that it is very easy to get Alchohol, 76.5% of 10th graders claimed that Cigarrettes were easy to get(3), yet both of these are things that have regulations, age limits, and are supposedly supposed to be checked with IDs. Clearly, even with such regulations, it is extremely easy for children under 18 to get their hands on these substances. Therefore, the argument of "It will make it harder for youth to obtain the drug" has no basis. C03: This is the problem with these medical studies. It is still a very open debate as to what health benefits and/or detriments each drug has. Articles such as these(4) show that when studied, the cancer rate rose(BTW, this article was written in 2008, whereas the article that my opponent provided, was written in 2006). Cannabis has seen a strong correlation between different mental health problems(5)(6), however, it is still a debate within the scientific community as to what the cause of this mental health problem is. Other studies have shown that Marijuana is linked with other cancers such as a very aggressive form of testicular cancer(12). I am not agreeing or disagreeing with any of these studies. As a scientist, I know how complicated correlation studies can be. However, when evidence for both sides exist, and neither can be corroborated, it is best to hold off on a decision until further studies and a more definite conclusion can be made. C04: ...And over 1/3 of Afghanistan's GDP comes from Heroine production, much of it supporting the Taliban. However, this is no reason to legalize Heroine and Morphine for public use. The fact of the matter is, legalizing one drug, will only lead to the cartels and gangs to concentrate on other drugs. C05: Although i will be discussing this in my own arguments, i will be happy to address them here. Do you really think it helps our teens to deny them of student loans, if they were(yes, not "their") caught with Crystal Meth? Probably not. Is this an argument that supports the legalization of Crystal Meth? No. If someone chooses the safer alternative to alcohol for their relaxation, is it really productive to deny them employment? Probably not. Is Marijuana safer than alcohol? We shall see. C06: So in conclusion, we are paying insane amounts of money and hurting innocent peoples lives to keep gangs and cartels in business while simultaneously giving our children easier access to a drug kept illegal over far more harmful drugs such as alcohol and cigarrettes. Why? Well, first off, in the arguments above, i have shown why all your evidence that suggest that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco, is inconclusive at best, an, for the most part, blatantly wrong. Secondly, that argument can be made for any drug that is currently illegal. Do we spend an insane amount of money and are we hurting peoples lives to keep gangs and cartels in business, by prohibiting Methamphetamine/LSD/Ecstasy/Heroine? Yes. Is this an argument for legalizing said drugs? No. Now, for my own arguments. A01. Recent studies have shown that people who abstain from marijuana completely were more likely to graduate from college and abstain from behavioral problems such as stealing or selling drugs(7). Even those who were only experimenting, did worse than those who abstained from Marijuana completely, and those who abstained from Marijuana completely were not at all maladjusted(8). A02. Medicinal Marijuana is legal, and should be, but public use of Marijuana should not. This is the same with Morphine. I am not against the medicinal usage of morphine, but i am against the public use of morphine as this leads to drug addiction. In this study, 42% of people who used Marijuana became lifelong users, which show the addictive qualities of Marijuana(9). Clearly Marijuana has the ability to become a long term drug abuse problem. A03. Legalization of Marijuana will infact increase the percentage of kids who experiment with Marijuana. My opponent has brought up the fact that Marijuana is safer than Alcohol. In the studies done, 70% of 12th graders disapproved of Alcohol use(10), while 80% of 12th graders disapproved of Marijuana use(11). The obvious reason for this, is because Marijuana is Illegal, while Alcohol is legal. However, if Marijuana were to be legalized, the disapproval trend would inevitably drop in all 8-12 grades, thus increasing the chances of Marijuana usage. Furthermore, the legalization of Marijuana will also inevitably lead to a decrease in cost of Marijuana as the drug becomes legal. This will only make it easier for people to get their hands on Marijuana, further increasing both the risk to adolescents, as well as the chances of abuse with Marijuana. I look forward to continuing this debate. Thank you. Sources: 1. http://www.rand.org... 2. http://www.monitoringthefuture.org... 3. http://www.monitoringthefuture.org... 4. http://www.reuters.com... 5. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov... 6. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov... 7. http://www.rand.org... 8. http://www.rand.org... 9. http://www.monitoringthefuture.org... 10. http://www.monitoringthefuture.org... 11. http://www.monitoringthefuture.org... 12. http://www.reuters.com...