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

My position is that there are many extremely detrimental aspects of marijuana prohibition, and that these override the limited negative effects of legalization. To start, I will dispel the more common arguments against legalization. I will go into greater detail on any topic if requested. One, the "Gateway Drug" theory. That is, smoking marijuana tends to lead to the use of "harder", more addicting drugs. Studies have shown that statistically this is not the case.(1) Logically, as that study in particular states, a persons predisposition toward harder drugs is a FAR larger impetus to their use than any one particular soft drug. Second, the "What about the children?" argument. The idea that legalization would be detrimental to our youth is entirely false. 83.9 percent of 12th graders surveyed said that cannabis is "easy to get". (2) The point being, drug dealers aren't checking IDs. If we had a legal and age regulated cannabis industry, it would in fact make it more difficult for youth to obtain the drug, and also protect them from getting involved with the desultory aspects of the black market. Thirdly, the "Marijuana is a public health risk" argument. I've heard people say marijuana causes everything from cancer to loss of brain cells to insanity. In reality, as DEA administrative law judge Francis Young put it "Marijuana is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man." The brain cell death study most people refer to was a farce where researchers essentially deprived monkeys of oxygen. More accurate studies on marijuana's effect on brain cells have shown that it in fact does not kill brain cells. (3) The cancerous effects people most often bring up, particularly the "smoking 1 joint equals 20 cigarettes" myth, are based on faulty reporting. The largest studies done on the matter have shown no increased chance for lung cancer (4) and because of the anti-cancer properties of THC, and actual protective effect against head and neck cancers (5) Now to the harmful aspects of prohibition. The sale of marijuana accounts for over 60% of Mexican drug cartel's profits. (6). Why are we giving billions of dollars to violent criminal gangs when we could instead turn that all into taxable income for American businesses. Beyond just Mexican cartels, the existence of inner city street gangs relies on profits from drugs. While marijuana legalization wouldn't eradicate them, it would still strike a huge blow to crime. There have been over 20 million marijuana related arrests in the US to date. About 90% of these arrests are for simple possession only. These arrests cost us tax payers 7.6 billion dollars annually. (7) Besides monetary costs, the victims of these arrests are hamstrung for the rest of their lives with limited access to loans, loss of custody of children, difficulty applying for a job. Do you really think it helps our teens to deny them of student loans if their caught with weed? If someone chooses the safer alternative to alcohol for their relaxation, is it really productive to deny them employment? So to conclude, 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 alcohol and cigarettes. Why? (1) (http://www.rand.org...) (2) (http://ornorml.org...) (3) (http://www.soop.ca...) (4) (http://www.webmd.com...) (5) (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...) (6) (http://www.boston.com...) (7) http://www.doctordeluca.com...