Marijuana is Disgusting and Ought to Not Be Legalized, For Various Reasons Other Than The One Stated

I have to ask... is the debate in question regarding the legalization of marijuana, or that marijuana could lead to health risks? If we are still debating about the legalization of marijuana, it appears my opponent has already conceded. from his/her statement in the previous round he/she seems to acknowledge the legalization for medical research with strong regulations. He/she even uses two states that have legalized it's use as a fine example to begin such research. He/she has further admitted to adjusting his/her own viewpoint in the debate he/she has created. But in the tradition of debating in general. My opponent has implied that although the legalization of marijuana should be acceptable in certain conditions, it should not be for recreation use. To that I would still disagree and am happy to continue arguing on that topic. I have already conceded that there is a possibility of health risks regarding the use of marijuana. Any time you burn something, and inhale smoke into your lungs, there is naturally a health risk. But as I have explained in previous arguments there are multiple products and activities out there that have been legal for years, and should remain legal, that could easily be considered much more risky than the recreational use of marijuana. Products and activities such as skydiving, base jumping, white water rafting, skiing, skate boarding, driving a car, ingesting unhealthy foods, having unprotected sex, lighting fireworks, the list continues but I believe you can get the point. My opponent has expressed his/her argument, I have expressed mine. I would like to touch up on a previous argument regarding our governments tools and resources, and the use of force. Currently in the U.S. it is illegal to be in possession of marijuana. It is possible to spend 20+ years in a federal prison for simply being in possession of marijuana. Imagine, spending your entire adult life in a prison not for murder, not for theft, not for breaking and entering, or rape, or assault, or even reckless driving. But instead because you were found guilty of selling a plant to an undercover officer. In the history of the world, there is not one recorded incident of death by marijuana. Not one. Currently the illegalization of marijuana has ruined more lives of people than the law could ever claim to have protected. Making risky behavior illegal for a society's own good makes about as much sense as forcing a woman to wear a burka in public to prevent temptation for a man. Because of the illegalization of marijuana, careers have ended, a thriving black market exists packed full of violence, police agencies are stretched thin, and the court systems is so tied up in many states it is forced to dismiss cases without even looking at the docket. Further, our prisons are packed full of non violent offenders. We have one of the highest prison population ratios in the world. All this while we continue to lose the expensive, and pointless war on drugs. If you are willing to make something illegal, you must be prepared to kill someone in order to enforce that law. For example: A man is caught for the third time selling large amount of marijuana to feed his family and earn a living. He is forced to choose this way of life because at an early age he was already caught with marijuana and therefore his chances of earning a decent living legally were diminished. He carries a gun because selling marijuana is illegal and because of this if he is ripped off, or held at gunpoint for his product, he will not be able to report the robbery to the police. Because he has this gun and realizes he is probably going to jail for the rest of his life, he decides to resist the arrest by running. When he is caught, he attempts to fight. When sticks are used to subdue him, his only option left is to defend himself with his gun, and officers return fire. This is the result of illegalizing marijuana because it's unhealthy... America once illegalized the sale and use of alcohol for similar reasons. The result was a spike in organized crime, gangs, and a general public who resented the officials enforcing the laws.... sound familiar? I encourage my opponent to refer to our nations history of prohibition. We may agree that the use of marijuana has it's health risks. But where it appears we separate is in the length at which you are willing to go to prevent it's use. A government is supposed to work for the public, not against. Is should protect us from each other. Laws such as murder, larceny, fraud, and rape should be emphasized and enforced. A government should protect it's people from outside invaders. But a government should never be given the authority to protect me from myself. That is not the role of government, and that is why it should legalize the use of Marijuana, regardless of how disgusting or unhealthy it would prove to be.