Marijuana certainly is common, though it should not be. While people think it is great smoking, getting high, forgetting their problems, or even doing it just because their friends are, they do not realize the negative effects. Many times people only see the surface of what the drug does to you. They do not see why it is such a big deal. Upon telling people they should not smoke, their response is often, "Why? You can't get addicted."" Addiction is not even the worry. The worry is in how much marijuana use can take away from your ability to think and do. Your chance of success drops, and you may not get nearly where you potentially could have before becoming a user. Debates over this issue have been going on since 1906, getting more serious in the 1920's, and by the 1930's marijuana was regulated in every state. Now, here we are in 2014 legalizing marijuana for medical use in many states, and even legalizing for recreational use in some states. Do we not see the concern?.
Opponents to legalization are usually law enforcement and government officials. But this must be for good reason. Law enforcement is here to make sure things continue flowing. They look for the issues and correct them. They are there to make bad good. Government officials? They are clearly where they are due to success. They are in their position to better their region, or even the entire country. Though many people disagree with them, their whole motive is to keep the country moving forward instead of stepping back. In his article "We Need to Legalize Marijuana Now,"" Ken MacQueen wrote, "Persons using this narcotic smoke the dried leaves of the plant, which has the effect of driving them completely insane"" (MacQueen 1). This can cause them to start fights with the people they live with, which can be the cause of them ending up on their own. This is when the need to get high increases and things just get worse. When the user ends up with virtually nothing, they turn to stealing, robbing, or sneaking in to places they should not be.