MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION IS GOOD

Recently my stepfather was fired from his job at a Saturn dealership. I
would not be upset by this if he was stealing from the company, slacking
off or because of some other valid reason.But he was a model employee, a
great father, and providing an income for his family.

After nine years of loyal service, he was fired after he tested negative
for drugs, but an additive was found in the sample. They say he was fired
because of "Saturn's ethics." This from same company that allows mechanics
to blatantly rip off customers. A couple of weeks ago, a mechanic replaced
an entire sunroof for more than $1,800 when all he had to replace was an
inexpensive switch. Saturn knows that this happens and does nothing.

Should a man be fired just because he likes to come home and relax by
smoking some marijuana? It does not affect his job at all.

I'm not saying that all drugs should be legalized, because they should not.
Both legal and illegal drugs kill. Alcohol and heroin kill people every
day. Alcohol has almost taken my life twice.

Now when was the last time you heard that someone has died from marijuana
use? When was the last time innocent people were killed by a "high" driver?
Never, because it does not happen. Weed does not kill.

If you smoke too much, you just get tired, will probably fall asleep, and
wake up feeling refreshed in the morning. There are no hangovers with
marijuana.

People in society today are too closed-minded. Are you really going to go
crazy and become a criminal if you smoke marijuana? No, you will just be a
little more relaxed and realize that all the negative stereotypes about
weed are false.

Alcohol makes some people violent and allows them to do and say things that
they normally would not. The recent tragic deaths during the Tennessee game
weekend are great examples.

If you want to stop this nonsense, legalize marijuana. That weekend if
everyone was high, those deaths more than likely would not have occurred.

Marijuana doesn't make you violent and psychotic. Yes, it can be bad and
make you extremely lazy if you smoke massive amounts daily. But would a
normal person get drunk four or fives times a day? No, unless they are a
raging alcoholic. Only a major pot head would smoke that much.

Everything needs to be in moderation. I am just saying that everyone should
try smoking marijuana a few times rather than going out and getting drunk
every night.

Try it at home first, you'll never be so entertained by your own
television. Then maybe go see a movie high.

But if you don't want to smoke, at least open your eyes and look at the
facts.

Check out www.norml.org. It has countless facts and statistics about
marijuana. According to the Web site, there were 682,885 marijuana-related
arrests last year. Eighty-eight percent of those were for possession only.
There were 6,985 more arrests for marijuana offenses last year than for all
violent crimes combined, including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated
assault.

There are countless celebrities, athletes and government officials that we
look up to, admire and respect, who have smoked and condone it. If you want
a solution, here's one for you. Legalize marijuana.

Marijuana is currently the fourth largest cash crop. Why not have the
government grow it, tax it and sell it?

There will then be extra billions of dollars generated that can be used for
meaningful things such as schools, the homeless, welfare, Social Security,
etc.

There will also be an estimated $10 billion saved because police can then
cut back on drug task forces. This would also eliminate most drug dealers.

Some people still call weed a "gateway drug." This is far from the truth.
You can say the same about alcohol and tobacco, although those are legal.

Having weed illegal just makes an individual search underground on the
black market for it, where one can then really be introduced to some
serious drugs. Why not have it easily available like alcohol and tobacco?

Recreational use of marijuana should not be a crime. As long as weed is
smoked in moderation, it is harmless. Something has to be done here. I'm
not sure yet how we can all make a change, but we all need to try.