Marijuana legalization

This is a very important issue. I will first offer my case for marijuana legalization, then offer a brief refutation that I will elaborate on in my next round. Now the motion is rather disingenuous. The motion should read:"Marijuana re-legalization. Marijuana is first referenced in history in 2900 BC by Chinese emperor Fu Hsi. Throughout history it has been used as a medicine. The personal journals of our founding fathers, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson would indicate that they were involved with hemp. Marijuana wasn't illegal until 1911 in Massachusetts; so it's not like legalizing weed would be a first. -Now the reason marijuana is illegal can't be because it's harmful, well it could be, but this would display a profound inconsistency in our government's policy. I shall explain why marijuana is not very harmful, but first let me list some substances that are legal and more harmful than marijuana. 1. Alcohol 2. Tobacco 3. Acetaminophen 4. Caffeine 5. Bitter Orange 6. Stamina RX 7. Cough Medicines 8. Helium 9. Paint 10. Glue 11. Sharpies 12,Benadryl 13. Nitrous Oxide 14. Viagra. -Now to a certain degree it is of no relevance if weed is harmful, it is more so about liberty. Anybody over 21 can waltz on down to the store and buy alcohol. Everyone is aware of the harmful side effects of alcohol such as: Slurred speech Drowsiness Vomiting Diarrhea Upset stomach Headaches Breathing difficulties Distorted vision and hearing Impaired judgment Decreased perception and coordination Unconsciousness Anemia (loss of red blood cells) Coma Blackouts (memory lapses, where the drinker cannot remember events that occurred while under the influence) unintentional injuries such as car crash, falls, burns, drowning Intentional injuries such as firearm injuries, sexual assault, domestic violence Increased on-the-job injuries and loss of productivity Increased family problems, broken relationships Alcohol poisoning High blood pressure, stroke, and other heart-related diseases Liver disease Nerve damage Sexual problems Permanent damage to the brain Vitamin B1 deficiency, which can lead to a disorder characterized by amnesia, apathy and disorientation Ulcers Gastritis (inflammation of stomach walls) Malnutrition Cancer of the mouth and throat. However there are not a lot of people who are lobbying for alcohol illegalization. It is a fundamental right to be able to do what ever one wants to do with one's own body, including substance intake. If one wants to make the case weed should be illegal for adverse effects, then one should have to argue for the illegalization of every substance worse than weed. -Now let's get to the meat; is weed really that harmful? NO Now what is often said of weed? "Who is to say that said person would not pick up a bat and beat someone to death due to their impaired mental state? Marijuana impairs judgement on all levels. " Now this quote from CON is absurd. Weed is notorious for being a sedative. In some cases weed may cause one to be angry but these is an indirect effect, and is the case in a small percentage of marijuana users. The majority are "chill". Weed withdraw causes anger. Please list a specific case in which a person only on weed committed a violent crime. Recreational usage is largely unaffiliated with violence. Now a case may be made for gang related marijuana violence, but that flows from weeds illegal status, which I will expand on when I introduce the failures of the drug war. "Marijuana is known to kill brain cells, smoking weed is a disturbing trend. Young people need to keep their minds sharp. There are far too many students flunking out of school these days, marijuana might be to blame. " Now this is even crazier than his last quote. New studies find that marijuana actually promotes neurogenesis . A link provided at the bottom of this post will be provided. It shows in an in depth study, that weed , specifically HU210 promotes neurogenesis. Now even if marijuana killed brain cells, who cares? Wanna know what else kills brain cells? 1. Shaking your head 2. Dehydration 3. Alcohol 4. Being Lazy 5. Over Hydration 6. Pessimistic thought 7. Stress 8. paint 9. Sleep Deprivation 10. Cigars 11. Exposure to electricity None of the aforementioned are illegal, something killing brain cells is not a convincing reason to make it illegal. The quote also implies pot users are dumb? Are there smart people who smoke pot? 1. Maya Angelou' 2. Morgan Freeman 3. Steve Jobs 4. Carl Sagan 5. Richard Feynman Also many sources show that graduation rates are increasing. Now he states that the integrity of the product will be compromised if made legal. I would like CON to substantiate this because it is extremely counter intuitive. The integrity might now be compromised because it is now illegal and the primary way to obtain it is from drug dealers who must have it imported. However if it is made legal it can be regulated, and companies can keep the product pure. Medical marijuana seems to be pretty pure by the way. -"What ever you have to say about weed, weed can still be a drug that will lead you to using others like cocaine or heroin. " And finally weed as a gateway drug. I saw this coming. I don't know of many experts who still espouse this notion. This whole notion is predicated upon the "post hoc ergo propter hoc" fallacy. It confuses correlation with causality. -Failures of the drug war The drug war has been a ridiculous failure. Over a trillion dollars have been spent and what is to show? 1. 2.3 million behind bars. More than 500,000 are non-violent drug offenders. 2. More crime. 3. Fueling the cartels. If weed was legal and taxed at rates comparable to alcohol, the US could save 41 billion a years. If weed was legal the cartels would be less appealing. Has prohibition ever worked? If we look at the 1920's the answer would be no. All the alcohol prohibition brought was: 1. organized crime 2. Violence 3. Profound increase in cigar usage 4. Disdain for the law 5. A waste of a lot of money. The current marijuana prohibition has mirrored the effects. In conclusion: My opponent's main argument was " it's bad for you". 1. That's not the basis of making something illegal. As I showed, many legal substances are worse than marijuana. 2. New science shows marijuana isn't so bad. 3. It's not a gateway drug. 4. The costs of the drug war greatly outweigh the benefits. 5. If there is a weed problem, illegalization makes it worse not better. Sources: . http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org... . http://www.drugwarrant.com... . http://www.theweedblog.com... . http://www.drugfreeworld.org... . http://www.mpp.org... . http://www.jci.org... . http://4mind4life.com... . http://elitedaily.com... . http://healthland.time.com... . http://www.patheos.com... . http://www.cnn.com...