Drifting out from the flared jeaned, longhaired flower power hippies of the sixties and seventies was the pungent smell of marijuana. Over the years the fashion may have gone in and out, but the mind's want for euphoria has not. Legalization of marijuana is an option that has not had a chance, but should be given one. We, as a nation, have been mindlessly opposed to marijuana for decades, hiding rationality under the belief that "drugs are bad, and bad things should be illegal." The truth is marijuana isn't as bad as some of the legal substances we have in our country. Compared to cigarettes and alcohol, marijuana is not a threat to people. Although many people feel that legalizing marijuana would increase amount of use, marijuana should be legalized because it will reduce the great amount of money spent on law enforcement and will also be useful in treating certain medical conditions. The marijuana plant is also a valuable natural resource. This change in the law would greatly improve the quality of life for many people.
First, marijuana is no worse than tobacco or alcohol. Tobacco, a drug that advertises the fact it gives you cancer, is sold almost anywhere, while marijuana, a drug that causes the munchies, has to be grown in secrecy. One would think that a drug like alcohol would be taken off the market because of its unsafe properties, but it is kept legal with a poorly-enforced age restriction. What makes people drunk is the alcohol killing brain cells. What makes people high is the chemical THC, which is not a poison. The chemical THC attaches itself to the neurons in your brain that sends signals to your body parts by mimicking the neurotransmitters. It alters your thinking. In no way does it try to kill your brain cells. Sometimes it can overload the brain cells and make them die, but not nearly as many as alcohol kills. Researchers have noted that the effects of smoking marijuana are usually lighter than those of many other recreational psychoactive substances.