The Growing Popularity Of Legal Marijuana

With Washington D.C. voting to legalize recreational marijuana, it feels like a tide is turning in the U.S. Now that our nation’s capital wants recreational pot, how long will it be before all states make a similar vote?

The federal government still maintains that the drug is illegal, but the cons of recreational marijuana legalization fall on many deaf ears as voters take to the ballot.

Voters in Washington, Colorado, Oregon and Alaska have all spoken and decided that pot should be legal for adults to use recreationally.

Why So Many People Believe In Legal Marijuana

There were already several states allowing for legal medical marijuana when a handful of states decided to take it to the next level. To allow adults to use this mind-altering drug for no other reason than recreation is a concept that has been gaining ground in recent years. While many are debating the advantages and disadvantages of legalizing marijuana, millions of people have already made up their minds.

Some of the biggest reasons supporters of legal pot give for their position don’t hold much water. For instance, many proponents of legal marijuana simply state that if alcohol is legal, pot should be too.

These supporters claim that marijuana is not as bad for you as drinking and that it doesn’t impair people to the same extent that alcohol does. To use this reasoning is to ignore all the harm and damage that alcohol causes every year, from the thousands of car accidents to the millions spent on health care. The next most popular argument is to claim that cash-stretched states will get a new source of revenue. Whether this proves to be true or worth the risks remains to be seen.

The Overwhelming Negatives To Recreational Drugs

While it is possible to make a case for some benefits of legalizing pot, the negatives far outweigh them. Recreational drugs are never safe, even when the perception is that marijuana is harmless compared to other drugs.

Marijuana causes harmful side effects, long-term health problems, addiction, accidents and even damage to the developing brains of teens and young adults. Yes, legal marijuana is supposed to be restricted to adults, but so is alcohol. And yet, alcohol is the number one substance abused by teens. To think that teens won’t get increased access to pot when it is legal for adults is to be naïve. Research has shown that marijuana use in teens impairs memory, thinking skills and even lowers IQ.

Voters may continue to debate and discuss the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana, but anyone who sees the facts will quickly realize that legal pot is a bad idea. Public health will suffer if more people are getting high and trying to function. We will surely see more accidents, and most troubling of all, teens will suffer.

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