Marijuana Legalization.

I will first counter my opponent's arguments, then provide some of my own. 1. The pursuit of happiness is not a good reason to make something legal. I'm sure murder and rape make some people happy, but that is not a good reason to legalize them. 2. The government certainly does have the right to tell people that they cannot smoke marijuana. The Pro's only argument here is that it is "on shaky ground", but that is not a real argument. The government does have the right to do this because there are far more health risks than benefits, which I will explain latter on in my argument. 3. The Pro's argument that marijuana crimes ruin lives is not valid. Of course getting arrested for committing a crime will be bad for you; that's one of the main reasons behind the justice system. We should not legalize something just because the punishment hurts them. By that logic, we should make everything legal and have no laws. 4. Pro says that marijuana creates a criminal underground, but gives no indication that legalizing marijuana would help solve this. Marijuana is just one of many of gang related "illegal money-making activities, which include robbery, drug and gun trafficking, fraud, extortion, and prostitution rings." [1] You can see here that there are many more crimes than illegal marijuana sales going on here, so legalizing one of them would not make all of them go away. 5. Pro says that we should legalize marijuana because it would bring in tax revenue, but that would go against the moral code of America. Legalizing marijuana for the purpose of tax revenue would be akin to the government taking bribes. We would be allowing a criminal act to take place in return for money. Bribery is against American honor and should not be a reason to legalize marijuana. 6. Pro's point about how alcohol and tobacco are already legal does not advance her case at all. I personally believe that alcohol and tobacco hurt our society, so her point is more of a reason to outlaw alcohol and tobacco. Just because alcohol and tobacco are legal doesn't mean that they should be, therefore this point falls. 7. The last argument about hemp being made into paper is irrelevant. The paper we use today works just fine. The harm that marijuana causes greatly outweighs our need for a new kind of paper. Now, onto my argument. The main reason that marijuana should not be legalized is the harmful effects it has on the smoker's health. Smoking marijuana, especially at a young age, can have seriously detrimental effects on the smoker's mental capacity. A Science Daily report said that "people who start using marijuana at a young age and those who use the greatest amount of marijuana may be the most cognitively impaired". [2] Smoking marijuana also increases the risk of cancer. Men's Health says that "men who reported smoking pot in the past were twice as likely to have certain types of testicular cancer". [3] Finally, government studies say that "marijuana users generally report lower life satisfaction, poorer mental and physical health, relationship problems, and less academic and career success compared to their peers who came from similar backgrounds". [4] This should be enough reason to keep marijuana illegal. 1. http://www.fbi.gov... 2. http://www.sciencedaily.com...... 3. http://news.menshealth.com...... 4. http://www.drugabuse.gov......