In order to be the land of the free and the home of the brave, we must give people the freedom to use what they choose.
Reason #1
Many of our citizens are kept in dark, cold, overcrowded jails just for using a substance less dangerous than alcohol and cigarettes. How would this help them even if pot were a dangerous drug like cocaine?
Drugs are not a political issue- they are a MEDICAL ISSUE.
Reason #2
Legalization of any substance helps control and regulate the sales, and many countries have found that this cuts down on drug problems.
Would you really rather have people buy ANY drug from a back alley dealer?
Reason #3
HOW DANGEROUS IS MARIJUANA
COMPARED WITH OTHER SUBSTANCES? Number of American
deaths per year that result directly
or primarily from the following selected causes nationwide, according
to World Almanacs, Life Insurance Actuarial (death) Rates, and
the last 20 years of U.S. Surgeon Generals' reports.
TOBACCO340,000 to 450,000ALCOHOL (Not including 50% of all highway
deaths and 65% of all murders)
150,000+ASPIRIN (Including deliberate overdose)
180 to 1,000+CAFFEINE (From stress, ulcers, and triggering
irregular heartbeats, etc.)
1,000 to 10,000 "LEGAL" DRUG OVERDOSE (Deliberate
or accidental) from legal, prescribed or patent medicines and/or
mixing with alcohol - e.g. Valium/alcohol
14,000 to 27,000 ILLICIT DRUG OVERDOSE (Deliberate or accidental)
from all illegal drugs.
3,800 to 5,200 MARIJUANA0 (Marijuana users also have the same
or lower incidence of murders and highway deaths and accidents
than the general non-marijuana using population as a whole. Crancer
Study, UCLA; U.S. Funded ($6 million), First & Second Jamaican
Studies, 1968 to 1974; Costa Rican Studies, 1980 to 1982; et al.
LOWEST TOXICITY 100% of the studies done at dozens of American
universities and research facilities show pot toxicity does not
exist. Medical history does not record anyone dying from an overdose
of marijuana (UCLA, Harvard, Temple, etc.).
(additional info and footnotes at:
http://www.jackherer.com/comparison.html)
