NIETZSCHE IS DEAD: SORRY, STUDENTS, MARIJUANA SHOULD STILL BE ILLEGAL

Marijuana is bad.

On this most auspicious of days, the calls for legalizing marijuana
reach their wheezing, coughing climax.

And year after year, these calls go unanswered for good reason.

As much as we want to think our parents are over-protective and
paranoid, there's a reason they always told us not to smoke pot, and
there's a reason pot is still illegal.

Marijuana smoke contains 20 times more ammonia and five times more
hydrogen cyanide and nitrogen oxide than tobacco smoke, according to
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The drug also doubles the risk of depression and triples the
incidence of suicidal thoughts, according to Life Science Weekly.

Contrary to some arguments, marijuana has been connected with
criminal activity - four out of every five repeat felons has a
history of drug use.

It's use contributes to vast social problems south of the border -
the anarchic violence in Mexico a potent example.

Despite the dangers pot poses, some propose arguments that cast the
drug in a good light, but virtually all of them are totally baseless.

The first - and most tired argument - is that marijuana is useful for
medicinal purposes. Although the jury is still out to some extent on
tightly-regulated medical marijuana, it is most definitively in on
legalization.

The Institute of Medicine, the American Medical Association and the
Mayo Clinic have all made public statements against legalization.

Besides, medicinal marijuana already exists in pill form as Marinol.

The second argument is that legalization would free up space in
overcrowded jails. This also has no basis in fact. Only 5 percent of
inmates in federal prison and about 27 percent of state prison are
incarcerated for drug-related charges, according to the DEA.

Another argument is drug-related violence would decrease with
legalization. But this assumes violence is a result of conflicts
resulting from trafficking - instead, most drug-related crimes are
committed by those on drugs, not those seeking them. A user on drugs
is six times as likely to commit violent crimes as an addict looking
to obtain them, according to the DEA.

Proponents argue legalization of marijuana will eliminate the
dangerous and violent black market involved in its distribution. But
this market will exist with or without drug laws.

If marijuana is legalized, an apparatus would have to be constructed
to regulate its distribution. High maintenance costs for this
apparatus aside, pure-grade marijuana would almost certainly not be
allowed - thus a black market would exist for these drugs anyway.

And don't forget all the drugs that would certainly sustain a black market.

The final myth legalization advocates advance is that legalization
will not lead to a significant increase in marijuana use. This is
patently untrue. Legalization has been tried before - Alaska voted to
legalize it in the 1970s, and the drug's use among teens doubled.

In fact, marijuana caused enough problems for the state to
re-criminalize it in 1990.

Although many college students would love to see marijuana legalized,
and many students have turned the search for evidence that it is not
harmful into a personal crusade, the hard facts indicate one simple truth.

Marijuana is bad. And it always will be.

Matthew Albright is a 20-year-old political communications sophomore
from Baton Rouge.