Andrew H. 

Marijuana Legalization

Dear Future President,

I am writing you to explain the issues regarding the legalization of marijuana.

Although marijuana is purported to be legalized for helping those with health issues and many other reasons, legalization of recreational marijuana use was a mistake.

With legalization, many people of age can buy and distribute marijuana intentionally or unintentionally to minors.

Some may say that it needs to be legal for those with issues who depend on it, but according to the FDA, marijuana does not meet the food and drug standards and no studies have actually supported the idea of “medical” marijuana. In a recent FDA survey, only 30% of customers have actually needed marijuana for medical purposes. According to a 2012 Monitoring the future survey, 42.5% of high school seniors have used and abused marijuana. Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), explained, "Marijuana legalization, for any purpose, is a non-starter in the administration. The administration—widely viewed as more liberal than any other in recent memory and, for a time, as embodying the hopes of pro-legalization activists—has weighed the costs and benefits and concluded that marijuana legalization would compromise public health and safety.”

Marijuana seems fun and harmless to many but has many hidden dangers. Marijuana can stop the production of brain cells and/or kill them altogether. It also slows and blurs one's thinking process. With a slowed thinking process, one will not be aware of what they are doing.

In the last year, more than 10% of car wrecks have been tied to Marijuana abuse. By not legalizing marijuana for recreational use, fewer people will have access, therefore there will be fewer accidents and issues related to marijuana.

According to the CDC, In 2015, 31% of all car wrecks were caused by alcohol. Altogether, almost half of the year’s car accidents are caused by being under the influence of drugs(marijuana) and alcohol. Although alcohol is the majority of the problem, the percentage of deaths can be decreased by a major amount if the recreational use of marijuana is prohibited. Do you want to be the victim of a reckless driver under the influence? Do you want innocent people to die and/or suffer due to marijuana?

We want the world to be a better place. Like you We want to make America great again. We can take baby steps simply by starting with marijuana. Our goal for our country should be to help the population by making it possible for the population to feel and be safe from things like marijuana. The only way we can be safe from it is to illegalize it altogether.

MLA:

Stimson, Charles. "Marijuana Should Not Be Legalized." Marijuana. Ed. Noah Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Legalizing Marijuana: Why Citizens Should Just Say No." Heritage Foundation, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.

"Medicinal pot? Or snake oil." Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada] 2 Aug. 2016: A10. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.

Why Marijuana Should Remain Illegal." New York Times 26 Feb. 1994. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.