Marijuana

I'll admit that I've tried marijuana, but I never made a habit out of it and I think that's for the best. Whenever I've smoked I always felt somewhat bad about it, like I was wasting my day sitting around smoking weed. I felt unproductive for the most part, and that feeling really bothered me sometimes and is the main reason I haven't smoked in years. However, I never felt that I deserved to be labelled a criminal for it, nor should anyone else. I think smoking marijuana is, for the most part, harmless and the stigma around it is there largely due to generations of misinformation on the matter. I think it's ridiculous that so many people have had to face hard time for something so miniscule as smoking or selling cannabis and I think that it hardly even qualifies as a drug. Obviously it's not good for you though, but tobacco and alcohol are legal and they are demonstrably worse for you. I think there is a lot of money to be maid through the legalization, regulation, and taxation of cannabis. Not to mention the blow it would take against the underground markets and the cartels that are currently benefiting from the fact that it's illegal. I am by no means a "stoner" but I am a firm believer that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks of legalizing cannabis on the national scale. I think nobody should have to face such harsh consequences for something that I think is just not that big of a deal. Marijuana is not habit forming, you can't overdose on it, and it has many health benefits such as helping people cope with nausea, insomnia, glaucoma, and overall pain. I think it's a much healthier alternative to addictive pain killers that doctors so freely prescribe. It's just ridiculous that many people think of it as being on the same level as other drugs that can and have ruined/ended so many peoples lives when it doesn't do that. Do I think it's something everyone should do? No. But I think that if a grown adult wants to smoke weed that should be their business and it shouldn't be treated as a crime like it has been for so long. One good thing is that I feel there is a change of thinking growing along with my generation. I feel that most people my age, even if they don't smoke themselves, don't really see a problem with other people doing it and I think that growing change of opinion will and is currently going to help change legislation on the matter. Even though I have rarely smoked myself, I think it should be up to the individual if they want to or not. The benefits outweigh the risks in my opinion and though I'm not a hard core crusader of the cause of legalization, I would have no problem if it became the norm and the law of the land.