Stated plainly, marijuana is not as debilitating, addictive or as dangerous as alcohol, tobacco, or firearms, three things that are legal and under government supervision. Is it that marijuana is not dangerous enough to legalize along with alcohol and tobacco?
Legalizing marijuana can only reduce crime and generate taxable revenue while lowering taxes for drug interdiction. We have far worse influences in our everyday life without the government steadily eroding our rights because "big brother knows best."
Did prohibition teach us nothing? Legalization can reduce violence associated with the black market. Yes, there will be other drugs to sell illegally, but legalization does take one widely-used substance out of the loop. There are already parameters established for the control of alcohol. It would only take a little time, thought, and money to adapt them to marijuana.
When an alcoholic quits cold turkey, he can look forward to enduring cold sweats, uncontrollable shakes and tremors during the detoxification process. On occasion, fatal seizures can accompany detoxing.
I have had a difficult time finding any research explicitly describing withdrawal from marijuana, or any real evidence to support claims of chemical addiction. So why is marijuana known as the "gateway drug?" I have seen people perform acts of reckless abandon while drunk that far exceed in stupidity the oafish stunts of the stoned, yet alcohol is legal.
Maybe I'm just being a left- wing liberal who loves to smoke it up. Maybe I love the thought of the government losing millions of dollars to fund a violent war against a potted plant.
Wait a minute… I don't smoke weed. The smell of it makes me nauseous. And I seem to still be a right- wing republican, so why am I taking such a position on something that makes me nauseous?
Freedom is NOT constructed babysitting, nor is it reckless abandon. Marijuana is nowhere near as mind-corroding a substance as indulging in America's favorite pastimes, everyday TV and junk food. Would the government also like to blame TV for a rampage of violence against a substance whose side effects are relaxation and the munchies?
Better yet, TV is telling the government to do it, the network big wigs at HBO, NBC, CBS, and Cinemax all realized that marijuana has about the same side effects of TV.
How dare marijuana replace the remote and compete with our God given right to rot on the couch with a drink in one hand and a bag of chips resting on our gut! TV is our pledge of allegiance.
Obesity is possibly more damaging to our nation's health than cigarettes, but no one is going to outlaw the American religion of fast food, no matter how fast it kills us.
What could legalizing marijuana really do for our country, besides eliminating a great deal of organized crime, offer new taxable revenue, and an alternative to having to take a leak every five minutes while intoxicated?
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