Marijuana Legislation should not pass.

Salutations! I would first like to talk about the line "X is a drug" this line is non-productive, it plays off peoples currently held beliefs on drugs. For many the word have negative conitations, but drugs can have positive or negative effects, and save many lives. Most medicine people take is a form of this drug or that drug. So yes Marijuana is a drug but that does not have any effect on its value to the U.S. of A. You admit that marijuana has certain benefits but say it is not as good as other medications, if it can do the same job as a prescription pain killer with the same effect why should we only use the pain killer. Many people would rather eat a brownie than pop a pill, so the effects being the same why take away that option. You personally do not think that cocaine should legal, that how ever is not a great argument for banning something. Ritalin, is a common drug, it is legal, and it is incredibly similar to cocaine in structure and function. So if Ritalin is fine to give to kids with ADHD I see no reason for cocaine to be off limits in all cases. If people are being helped by the weed why stop them. Even if the reason why someone wants to take it is small, it can still be a valid reason. You said this in your argument "To even have fun and enjoy. That's a little strange if you have a traditional mindset." I fail to see why people wanting to have fun is strange to a "traditional mindset". People drink to have fun, yet doing weed for fun is strange. Also what is "traditional mindset"? People have been taking drugs for a long time to be happier, so wouldn't that be more the traditional mindset. Something' s strangeness also is no reason to ban it. The drug makes people happy, how is that a bad thing? There are plenty of people that take anti-depressants to make them self's happier today. A hedonist (dictonary.com defines as "one who believes the pursuit of pleasure is the most important thing in life") would be all for weed being legal, it can bring them great joy but you would force upon them a less enjoyable life. Where does that right come from? that view on life has no more or less weight than anyone's different view. People should be allowed to make there own choices about what they do to, and with there body. Recreational use does not have to be a "big no no". The reason you give for it being a no no is that it would make it look acceptable to kids, adults can legally drink and have sex, but kids are not told those are not actions they should be doing before they are adults. Once they are adults it is acceptable. What is wrong or right is subjective, and the U.S. is not the world, so the world will not be going down the wrong path if weed is legalised in the states. You go on to say "Marijuana will usually make a user eventually lazy, paranoid, and slow." those effects often are things that make it into stonier movies, but are not actually noticeable symptoms of the drug for a lot of users. You also gave no reason to believe that those are common side effects. One of those symptoms, the paranoia, many people have said is not the effect of the drug but of the fact it is illegal. The paranoia is associated with the drug may very well disappear when the drug is legalised. Weed is already recreationally legal in Colorado, and those effects have not caused the state much trouble so far. People still get there work done and they did not all become slow.You can walk around Denver and not every thing smells like pot. Just as there are different types of drunks there are different types of highs I would not mind eating in a restaurant with a high couple, it is quite possible that I would not even now they are high. I will also call to mind that coming to work high is like coming to work drunk. Being high in many places is grounds for termination, legalization will not change that.The drug is beneficial in some cases, so why not teach kids about its pros and cons its better than them trying it with a friend. I also would like to talk about the idea it is a gateway drug, here is a quote from national institute of drug abuse "people who are more vulnerable to drug-taking are simply more likely to start with readily available substances like marijuana, tobacco, or alcohol, and their subsequent social interactions with other substance users increases their chances of trying other drugs." so this idea is not really weeds fault.There are different choices for pain relief but there are reasons why weed might be the best choice for some people, why limit people's options. I will also like to talk quickly about money, the money made in weed sales is good for the states, the tax revenue is very large.Weed does not need to be illigal.