Rant Drugs Rant Rant

I was thinking about writing a blog on how wonderfully horrible a president Bush was, but I'd rather not waste my time on something so obvious. Instead, I'm going to share my thoughts on why marijuana should be legalized. Then you're, like, "Omigosh! Jen does weed ALL DAY LONG." No, my silly little tamale. That is certainly not the case. I just happen to be well-informed. Maybe.

Anyway, my first reason is money. Think about it; drug dealers are arrested for selling the stuff. So where do they go? Jail. And, of course, we are the ones paying for their court & attorney fees, their health care, and to be in prison. All with our taxes. Not only that, but the government could put taxes on marijuana if pharmacies were allowed to provide it. Maybe they could spend it on something useful like educating the youth on drugs and treating those with addiction problems.

One thing that I don't really understand is why things like tobacco and alcohol are perfectly fine as long as you are of age, while marijuana isn't. Marijuana has adverse affects on your mental and physical condition, but so does alcohol! Obviously just like alcohol, marijuana should be age restricted and be prohibited in certain public areas. It's probably easier for a high schooler to acquire drugs than alcohol. Perhaps we did something right when we legalized and regulated alcohol?

Lastly, whether marijuana is legal or not, people use it and will continue to use it. People should have the freedom to use marijuana as long as they aren't violating the rights of others under the influence.

I didn't bring this up in class [because I forgot], but I was wondering why the U.S. government refuses to allow the growing of hemp here. Hemp can be used to make anything! Paper, clothes, cars, fuel. You name it. If I've been told correctly, it's not strong enough to have any noticeable effects or make you high. We're in the age of "going green", aren't we? Why aren't we making use of industrial hemp that could not only help the environment, but the economy as well?