Marijuana

~~Rebuttels~~I will start by stating that my opponent has used only biased sources that are hardley even credible.Now I will state that my opponent puts a lot of enphesis on teens driving under the influence. However, stuff like this can't be resolved by merely keeping in illegal especially since it is the very fact that it is illegal that makes it easier for teens to get in the first place. A study conducted earlier this year states that teen marijuana use is at an all time high (even though it is illegal), while alcohol usage among teens is very low [1]. This comes to a question? Why is this occuring? Well, for one thing alcohol is legal and regulated, while weed is just banned. By banning weed the governmnet inadvertantly paves the way for even more users. Now why is this? It is because marijuana is even more available then alcohol. Users don't have to be 21 to buy marijuana because the dealers don't care what age the buyer is. We saw this very same thing happen when alcohol was illegal. All of the sudden there was a huge demand for alcohol, and even though the polic made busts it was still getting in the hands of not only adults but also children [2]. From the look of current and past events it would be better to just legalize and regulate it so it will stay out of the hands of teens who would use it without any knowledge of the consequences. ~~My Argument~~Contention 1: Self-OwnershipThis is the #1 reason why marijuana should be legalized. People simply have a right to do whatever they want with their own bodies. It has long been the excuse that 'marijuana is harmful to the human body and that it will kill it's users and thats why it should be illegal' however it is my fervent belief along with the rest of the marijuana legalization supporters that it is none of the governments bussiness as to what individual people put into their bodies. According to the very princibles of which our nation was founded the people of the U.S.A. have the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness [3]. If people want to pursue happiness by getting high in the privacy of their own homes then it is unconstitutional for the government to deny them them that.Contention 2: Economic GainThe war on drugs is a war that will never end. It is also a war that costs a very large amount of tax dollars. It costed $23.44 billion to fund the war on drugs last year alone [4]. Now imagine this amount increasing year by year. And then imagine the better stuff we could be putting that money too. We could fund better schools, we could pay off the national debt, we could build an even better America. The war on drugs is a complete failure just like it's predicesser before it (alcohol prohibition). It is costing us a huge amount of money and isn't even working. We spent that much money last year and now that we are in a nnew year it is quite apparent that the use of drugs including marijuana is increasing. I would be far better to legalize, regulate, and tax the cash crop. Marijuana is the largest cash crop in the U.S. right now (even though it's illiegal) [5]. So, if we legalize it we make it a more lagitamet substance and save our selves billions of dollars. If we regulate it we can keep it out of the hands of minors just like we are doing with alcohol now, and if we tax it we gain extra money that can go to better things like for example our huge national debt. Legalizing 'Mary Jane' would do us better then keeping it banned.This is only a few of my arguments. I am only doing two right now since we have four more rounds left. I will now let my opponent give his rebuttels and whatnot.[1]http://www.addictiontreatmentmagazine.com...[2]http://en.wikipedia.org...[3]http://en.wikipedia.org...[4]http://actionamerica.org...[5]http://abcnews.go.com...