The Legalization of Marijuana

As you stated earlier, if marijuana was legalized it would have to pass many different health laws. This is true, the government would regulate it and alter it to make it pass what ever health law they will make. The thing is, the drug won't be the same anymore. It will not be as potent and people will not get the same high they used to. After people realizing this, they are going to turn back to dealers anyway. Either way the people will be buying from dealers. "Because of its potency, domestic marijuana is the most highly prized cannabis product in the world. In 1970, the average THC content of a marijuana plant was 1.5 percent. The THC content of today's sinsemilla variety ranges from 8 percent to 20 percent. Today's marijuana is a drug that is significantly more potent than it was during the Woodstock era." -- This just shows how marijuana has changed over the years and how it is not the same it used to be. http://www.nytimes.com... So when you say "What you say about all people who smoke marijuana suddenly not caring about anything just isn't true. Look at all the successful people who smoked weed gratuitously: The Beatles, Carl Sagan, The Grateful Dead, Bob Marley, Michael Phelps, Sir Richard Branson, Barack Obama, Michael Bloomberg, Ted Turner, Stephen King, Arnold Schwarzenegger! These people certainly didn't sit around and do nothing, they did not stop caring about everything, and they were all very successful," you have some facts mixed up. Many, not all, of these people used marijuana years and years ago, when it was a completely different drug then it is today. Sure those people are successful, but not because they used marijuana. The marijuana they used was not even half as strong of what it is today. " I think that it will make marijuana users and everyone safer because sensible people would buy the legal, clean, safe drug. People who want illegal substances will get them either way. I think it would be easier to track down bad dealers because their weed would be identifiably different from that of the legal kind."--As I said earlier, and you seem to agree with me, that the legal marijuana and illegal marijuana will be two totally different drugs. Users are already used to the high potency drug, and the legal passed drug will not be enough for them. Here is my support "The writer then states that "if the Government really believes that stronger varieties of marijuana are less desirable, then it has one more reason to support legalization. If cultivation of marijuana were legal, growers would not be pressed to produce the strongest possible product, and health authorities would be able to regulate its production and strength."This logic doesn't hold up. Why would a marijuana abuser opt for a less potent drug when stronger varieties are available? As health regulators distributed the lesser drug, illegal growers would be pushing their higher potency marijuana. More to the point, potency, although a factor, is not the only reason that marijuana should remain illegal. Marijuana contains known toxins and cancer-inducing chemicals, which are stored in fat cells for long periods of time. Scientific research relates marijuana use to damaged brain cells and respiratory systems, decreased hormone production in both sexes, acute memory loss, lowered immune systems and impaired motor skills. THC and marijuana smoke have been directly linked to miscarriage, in-utero fetal death, stillbirth and infant death just after birth, along with behavioral and biological abnormalities of offspring." Illegal dealers and growers would still be out there and there is also more support of negative outcomes. Carcinogens, memory loss, impaired motor skills, the list goes on. How can out government approve of something that does this. I know you may say that the government won't legalize something like this and that it will have to pass a certain criteria, but then we get back to the problem of dealers. We should just skip a step and just be cracking down on dealers. Why waste our time on something that will not work. http://www.nytimes.com... "More teens are in treatment for marijuana use than for any other drug or for alcohol. Adolescent admissions to substance abuse facilities for marijuana grew from 43 percent of all adolescent admissions in 1994 to 60 percent in 1999."-- Numbers have gone up. Society does not realize how much of an effect marijuana has on the youth. This is the amount of youth who is in treatment for the drug, just think about how many people do the drug, and how many should be getting help, but are not. http://www.justice.gov... "This is simply untrue. I have shown many economists think it would help the economy. I have shown that it would make the drug safer for those who will use it whether or not it was illegal. I have shown that we waste a lot of money on trying to stop its distribution and jailing those who distribute it that should be used on more important things. I have shown it will keep kids from getting into more harmful drugs. If this is not enough reason to show that it should be legalized, here are more reasons:" You have shown this, but I have proved otherwise. Legalizing it will still sway people to go to dealers. It is not a waste of money if we are helping the youth. Sure if someone uses marijuana they may not use other drugs, but it doesn't lessen the consequences that come of marijuana. It won't work, and it is not right. Legalizing marijuana would just start a cycle. Here is how it would go: Right now we are trying to crack down on dealers, Then if we legalize it, it would be sold passed by a health law, People will try the legal marijuana and realize it is not potent enough for them, Users will go back to dealers, and here we are again trying to crack down on dealers. It is pointless. Our society should be better informing the youth, cracking down on kids and dealers, and stopping the distribution of this drug. All the negatives of this drug outweigh any positive.