Marijuana Legalization

1. More addressing why pot is not as bad as tobacco or alcohol: You can clearly see here on this graph the level of dependence and physical harm of certain drugs, pot ranks as one of the best: [I will attempt to provide the link in the comments section, for some reason it isn't working here] Cannabis is ranked one of the least harmful drugs by the UK medical journal, The Lancet. The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is one of the world's best known, oldest, and most respected general medical journals. [1] Marijuana is by far a better choice than tobacco or alcohol. 2. On my assertion that the founding fathers smoked pot: " President George Washington wrote a letter that contained an oblique reference to what may have been hashish. "The artificial preparation of hemp, from Silesia, is really a curiosity." Washington made specific written references to Indian hemp, or cannabis indica, and hoped to "have disseminated the seed to others. " His August 7, 1765 diary entry, "began to separate the male from the female (hemp) plants," describes a harvesting technique favored to enhance the potency of smoking cannabis. Hemp farmer Thomas Jefferson and paper maker Ben Franklin were ambassadors to France during the initial surge of the hashish vogue. Their celebrity status and progressive revolutionary image afforded them ample opportunities to try new experiences. " " Did the Founding Fathers of the United States of America smoke cannabis? Some researchers think so. Dr. Burke, president of the American Historical Reference Society and a consultant for the Smithsonian Institute, counted seven early presidents as cannabis smokers: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor and Franklin Pierce. "Early letters from our founding fathers refer to the pleasures of hemp smoking," said Burke. Pierce, Taylor and Jackson, all military men, smoked it with their troops. Cannabis was twice as popular among American soldiers in the Mexican War as in Vietnam: Pierce wrote to his family that it was "about the only good thing" about that war." [2] 3. More on the effect to crime rates from legalization: Con completely failed to see how the process works. He stated that if pot was legalized the cartels would go unchallenged. This is rubbish. The very reason the cartels have such control over pot is because it's illegal. The pressure from the government forces the industry to move from the hands of normal law-abiding citizens into the black-market where it becomes a fuel for other criminal activity. No wonder why cops say legalize it. [see first two videos] http://www.youtube.com... http://www.youtube.com... 4. Economics: I would argue that this is much more an economic issue than a social one. Con completely failed to address what I had to say about that. The truth is we just can't afford the war on drugs. The spending of money, which we don't have, to suppress the use of this substance that shouldn't be suppressed in the first place is insanity when we could actually be creating wealth from it's legalization. 5. Morality: "Many religions and moral codes prohibit the use of intoxicating substances. Marijuana is generally considered to fit into this category." You've got to be kidding me. If your justification of such massive government initiated force is religious than that, my friend, is the very definition of theocracy. The bottom-line; governments should not and can not force us to be moral people. The detachment of the American people from this sentiment is precisely why America, the land of the free, no longer exists. What's next? Force everyone go on a diet? Force them to exercise? Force them to use their please and thank yous? Let people be. It's none of your business. 6. Quotes: Just thought it would be interesting to throw these quotes of famous individuals about pot in with all this: "Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica." - Abraham Lincoln "Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country." - Thomas Jefferson "Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere." - George Washington "We shall, by and by, want a world of hemp more for our own consumption." - John Adams "The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this." - Albert Einstein "Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could." - William F. Buckley "When a private enterprise fails, it is closed down; when a government enterprise fails, it is expanded. Isn't that exactly what's been happening with drugs?" - Milton Friedman The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world." - Carl Sagan "Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?" - Henry Ford 7. History: Pot is stooped in a rich heritage and has made a defining and positive mark on history. [See last two videos for history of marijuana] http://www.youtube.com... http://www.youtube.com... ===SOURCES=== [1] http://en.wikipedia.org... [2]http://www.marijuanalibrary.org...