Dear President,

Do you think marijuana possession is really worth all the consequences that we have in place for it? I am writing you today because marijuana illegalization needs to change because alcohol and tobacco are both more harmful than cannabis but are still legal. Also, people cannot afford fines or being thrown in jail. This topic is especially important to me because I've had several family members get fined for possession of a drug that should be legal

I think that alcohol and tobacco are both more dangerous than marijuana. This is important because people should not have to be fined or arrested or charged for doing something that isn’t harmful. “Almost 6 million people die from tobacco use and 2.5 million from harmful use of alcohol each year worldwide. Zero people per year die from cannabis”. The issue here is that we have 2 legal drugs that kill 8.5 million people per year when we could have a different LEGAL option rather than harmful drugs like alcohol and tobacco

I think that people shouldn’t have to get fined for something that is safe. This is important because not everyone has enough money to pay court fines. Also, people who smoke cannabis should not have to risk getting thrown into jail or juvie for possession of a non-harmful drug. “Possession of marijuana is punishable by up to one year in jail and a minimum fine of $1,000 for a first conviction. For a second conviction, the penalties increase to a 15-day mandatory minimum sentence with a maximum of two years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500.” The problem here is that police officers are wasting time by getting people in trouble for something that isn’t a part of the real problem in the United States.

Are you okay with the government throwing smokers in jail when they could be looking for rapists and murderers and actual criminals? The solution to our problem here is legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. The president could legalize and tax recreational cannabis and actually make money off of it rather than just throwing people in jail for it. 

• Website Title: Partnership for Drug-Free Kids
  
• Article Title: WHO Report: Smoking and Drinking Cause Millions of Deaths Wo[…]
  
• Date Accessed: November 07, 2016
  
• Author: By Join Together Staff    

     "Position Statement on Marijuana Laws." American Journal of Psychiatry 136.5 (1979): 754. Web.