Resolved: Marijuana should be legalized in the United States.

I will argue my side on the following three contentions: Making marijuana illegal does not stop people from consuming it, making marijuana illegal infringes on individual liberty, and the war on drugs has unintended consequences. I probably won't argue for medical marijuana in this debate simply because my opponent may agree with me and because this debate is about recreational pot. Contention 1: Making marijuana illegal does not stop people from buying and consuming it. I use this argument all of the time when debating against gun control. The argument is that having laws limiting guns does not stop criminals from getting guns because they obviously have a much greater personal desire for them. The same is true with marijuana. People who regularly use pot will not let the law get in the way. This argument is very practical and logical, but is it only theoretical? Actually, no. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a national average of 35% of high schools students use marijuana for recreational purposes. The percentage is much higher for adults who legally can smoke pot in 3 states and Washington D. C. Keep in mind, this is a national average in a country where in 47 states, pot is illegal for recreational purposes. So clearly, pot being illegal in most states, doesn't change the fact that people who really want to do drugs are going to do them. . http://www.drugabuse.gov... Contention 2: Making marijuana illegal infringes on individual liberty. I'm not going to try to say that we as individuals have a constitutional right to smoke pot. I do want to make the point however, that it is an exercise of liberty. Oxford Dictionary defines liberty as: the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one"s way of life, behavior, or political views. If this is the definition of liberty, then having marijuana illegal is infringing upon individual liberty. Smoking pot is a personal habit and is a certain lifestyle. I believe that if we as a nation believe in liberty, we should not only protect people's religious and legal rights, but also protect their personal habits as long as those habits are not a danger to society. . http://www.oxforddictionaries.com... Contention 3: The War on Drugs has unintended consequences. Rand Paul, a U. S Senator from Kentucky and a leading 2016 presidential candidate has stated many times that the War on Drugs should end because it has unintended consequences. (To be clear, in this argument I will use the phrase War on Drugs but am still talking specifically about marijuana. ) When asked to clarify what he meant by unintended consequences, he said this, "Three out of four people in prison are black or brown for nonviolent drug use. However, when you do surveys, white kids are doing drugs at an equal rate, and they are a much bigger part of the population. So, why are the prisons full of black and brown kids? It is easier to arrest them. It is easier to convict them. They don't get as good of attorneys. And, frankly, they live in the city more than in the suburbs, and so the police are patrolling the city more. But it is unfair. The war on drugs has had a racial outcome, unintentionally, but it has a racial outcome. " This statement is completely true. White and black people do marijuana roughly at the same rate and there are much more white people, and yet there are more black people in prison. The tough drug laws minorly affect white people with more means and majorly affects people (usually black or brown people) with less means. Legalizing marijuana would ensure that these people would have better lives and not get prison sentences for smoking marijuana (a non-violent crime). I look forward to my opponent's opening arguments.