Why We Should Keep Marijuana Illegal

My father, a healthcare professional and longtime sufferer of severe arthritis, used to say marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes; while there is certainly a need for legal prescription painkillers, I believe marijuana should be the last resort; But my stand in keeping marijuana illegal is focused on those who have been clamoring for decades to make it legal for personal recreational use, to be sold and available in a manner not much different from tobacco. No, it shouldn't be.

My first stand against legalizing marijuana is I do not wish to "get high" from someone else's pot smoke-- if you smoke around others, they will get a contact buzz, whether they want to or not. That's not okay; it is not okay at all. My second main issue is I'd no more appreciate being killed or maimed by someone driving under the influence of pot than by a drunken driver-- and while regulating alcohol limits is difficult enough, trying to do the same with marijuana would be virtually impossible, for everyone reacts to it differently, to a different degree, as well as the potency of the drug itself varying. No, I don't want to get "stoned" from someone's "personal choice," nor do I want to end up as a casualty from a vehicle driven by someone under-the-influence.

Other factors cannot be overlooked either. First, for the past couple of decades it's been reported that nearly everyone who becomes involved with so-called hard drugs began their experimentation with marijuana. In addition to the addictive nature, I suppose those who believe it is okay to break the law, abuse their bodies, and put others in danger from the effects of pot don't really see much difference between marijuana and substances like meth and heroin. From an entirely different perspective, I don't see much difference either.

Second, although it has not yet been infallibly proven, enough research studies have concluded that marijuana use in youth causes some degree of chromosome damage which even years on down the line significantly increase their offspring's chances of developing childhood leukemia. Although not conclusive, the risk is too much.

In this particular locale, well-respected established doctors often encourage pregnant mothers-to-be to smoke pot in order to ease the symptoms of morning sickness-- this is absolutely horrifying; perhaps medical professionals should consider the effects, known and unknown, on unborn babies, rather than encouraging their patients to put their infants at risk simply for the sake of convenience.

All in all, there is no good reason to legalize any mind-altering, mood-altering substance-- there should be a limit on what people can do in the name of "having a good time."