NO GOVERNMENTAL GANJA

From an uninformed perspective, legalizing marijuana to give the
economy a boost and satisfy public desire sounds like a good idea.

The government would be able to regulate and tax each sale, earning a
hefty profit. An estimated calculation of the tax proved California
would earn approximately $1.4 billion in revenue by legalizing the use
of marijuana.

But aside from the benefits to state governments and recreational
enjoyment, the proven health consequences from the drug make it
difficult for the legislation to pass.

According to a recent Gallup poll, public support for the legalization
of marijuana is currently at its highest. The government is catering
its policies regarding marijuana usage to the increase in demand for
legalization.

Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. instructed federal
prosecutors to become more lax when pursuing cases against the use of
marijuana for medicinal purposes. Holder encouraged federal
prosecutors to focus more on cases that involve significant drug
trafficking.

Unfortunately, many people do not obey the law and take the drug
anyway without a prescription or medical reasons. Their inability to
obey the law (which is set for a reason, as most laws are) often costs
users time, money and unpleasant experiences with police officers or
court officials.

Claims that legalizing the drug would save the time and money of law
enforcement agencies are irrelevant based on the fact that the
individual took the time to commit the act while being aware of the
law and its consequences.

One of the state government's goals is to protect the health and
well-being of citizens and not expose them to unnecessary risks.

Even though the additional revenue may benefit the state monetarily,
it's not worth sacrificing the health of the public. If states start
passing bills to legalize marijuana, children may receive the message
that drug use is acceptable and develop more serious addictions later
in life.

According to the Center for Disease Control, marijuana use causes the
following health deficiencies: short-term memory loss, slower
learning, impaired lung function, impaired immune response and
decreased sperm counts.

A research report series on marijuana from the National Institute on
Drug Abuse compared 173 cancer patients and 176 healthy individuals
and provided evidence that smoking marijuana doubled the likelihood of
cancer of the head or neck.

Although these side effects are not necessarily deadly, they affect
the user's personality and state of being. By legalizing the drug, the
government is giving Americans the thumbs up and allowing them to be
legally exposed to these health risks.

The marijuana debate has also included the "gateway theory." This
argument suggests by using marijuana, individuals will be more likely
to try harder drugs, such as cocaine, ecstasy, heroin and LSD. These
are the drugs that are known to ruin lives, tear families apart and
destroy user health.

This theory is being effectively demonstrated in inner-city
neighborhoods and school settings where marijuana is the easiest drug
to access.

There are countless social aspects of human life that could be
negatively affected by smoking marijuana. In the same NIDA study,
workers who tested positive for marijuana had 55 percent more
industrial accidents, 85 percent more injuries and 75 percent of those
individuals came to work less often than those who did not use the
drug.

Students who smoke marijuana are shown to have significantly lower
grades and are less likely to graduate high school than those who do
not use the drug.

Despite the recent increase in demand for legalizing marijuana, the
government should consider the health risks and social ramifications
of legalization.

If widely available, culture and society would drastically change.
After using the drug, users are subject to personality, mood and
cognitive changes.

Legalizing marijuana would be a poor, selfish decision made by the
government that would result in a population further craving altered
states of mind.

Eva Hill