Props to you, Alley Cat. I feel the same way.
Marijuana is so poorly treated in the US. It's classified as a Schedule I drug, up there along with amphetamine, heroin and plenty of others. The only argument that opponents can strongly hold is that marijuana acts as a gateway drug. While it does, to those who actually graduate onto stronger substance abuse, it's not
necessarily a gateway drug. As a regular smoker myself, I've been presented multiple opportunities to try mushrooms, acid and ecstasy. I haven't, nor do I want to. Marijuana does it for me. After a long hard day, it's nice to just relax and smoke a bowl. Watch some TV shows or play some video games.
Besides the recreational use, marijuana has been proved to help medical conditions. While it can't cure anything, it can definitely dampen symptoms. My uncle has MS, and thankfully in Canada we've legalized medical marijuana, and he can choose to smoke it if he pleases. I don't think he does, though. But that's personal choice. I'm glad that the US is slowly starting to recognize marijuana as a medicine and are at least legalizing it for that purpose.
Apart from that, do I really need to state the obvious? The government would profit
incredibly through taxing marijuana. They've decriminalized tobacco and alcohol usage and these have and will kill more than marijuana has, combined. Total overdoses on marijuana: 0.
It's simple, really. All you've got to do is regulate it just like we do alcohol. Under my jurisdiction, any persons of age 18 and above could legally buy, possess and use marijuana, for medicinal or recreational purposes. Of course, one would not be encouraged to drive while high, and employers would have legal stance to fire an employee if he were to come to work high.
Through decriminalization and regulation, the cartel will no longer be a part of the drug trade. We wouldn't have a War on Drugs because we'd have already won against it. It would be entirely under our control. The next step would be to properly educate students at a young age about its effects, both psychological and physical. The different possible ways of consuming it (smoking, edibles, vaporizing) and how each of these effect the body differently. I have to hold myself from laughter when I meet people who expect weed brownies/cookies to work immediately. They keep eating them until finally, about an hour later, they get hit like a brick wall from the high.
Governments are going about this completely wrong. They're so focused on manipulating their people through fear. "Don't do this or you'll be fined/incarcerated." How about having a little faith in your people?