Dear Future President,

   I would like to use a few minutes of your time to discuss an issue I have. Drugs have had a major impact on our country, and not a positive one. One of these drugs is marijuana. Medical uses are greatly encouraged because it is helpful that way, but recreational uses are not. It is a federal law that the recreational use of marijuana is illegal. Two states, Colorado and Washington, allow the recreational use of marijuana. President Obama has told these states to not enforce the federal law because there needs to be more room in prisons for people who have committed violent crimes. This should not be allowed because many more states will follow in the path of legalizing marijuana, and the federal government will not enforce its power on the fact that it is illegal.

   What I ask, future president, is that you take action on your laws. Marijuana is a dangerous drug and has killed and will kill many people if the acceptance of the recreational use is continued. I think that federal laws have more power than state laws and are the utmost importance, at least according to the Constitution. No president should allow its people to do something so detrimental to themselves that will potentially kill them with knowledge of the situation. As the president of the United States, you have the power to require states to follow laws. This law should be one at the top of the list because states are not following it and many more are prone to join them if no action is taken.

   All I ask future president, is that you consider the future of your citizens, and how marijuana can affect them. Some effects of marijuana are short term memory problems, hallucinations, increased risk of stroke, increased risk of heart attack, and loss of sense of personal identity. Long term effects are addiction, increased welfare dependence, poor school performance, and lower life satisfaction. Speaking of medical issues, in 2005, 242,200 emergency room visits involved people using marijuana and marijuana is next to alcohol in the cause of drug related fatal automobile accidents. With people more dependent on welfare, it causes our country to give out more money to people who will just buy it to get more drugs, which is not what our country's money that people have worked extremely hard for should go towards. What president would want their citizens living their lives this way, addicted, having major health issues, and making it by on government money? With that being said, future president, I think you should take the factual effects of marijuana and consider them when deciding if to enforce the FEDERAL law that recreational use of marijuana is illegal.

                                                                           Works Cited

"Information About Illegal Drugs & Alcohol Abuse - Drug-Free World." Foundation for a Drug-Free World. N.p., 2006-2016. Web. 25 Oct. 2016. <http://www.drugfreeworld.org/home.html>.