OK, time to break it down:
I. Harms (or lack of harms) of Cannabis
- Cannabis does not kill brain cells. This was a myth created by the Heath-Tulane study. In it, the scientists would put a gas mask around a monkey's face, pump pot smoke without oxygen, and suffocate them. What happens when you suffocate? Your brain cells start to die.
- Cannabis does not cause lung cancer. Although intaking heated plant matter paralyzes the cilia, unlike tobacco, cannabis has anti-tumor properties which are believed to counteract the negative effects.
- Cannabis has not directly killed a single human being in history. It is physically impossible to overdose on.
- Cannabis is not physically addictive.
- Many people have managed to live successful lives who have used it, some still using it today (Ted Turner).
- The gateway theory is nonsense. Is milk a gateway to alcohol?
II. Hypocrisy
- Tobacco and alcohol can cause cancer, both legal.
- Prescription drugs kill tens of thousands a year, completely legal.
- Although it's not a smart idea to drive high, it's not impossible, unlike driving drunk. Sure, it might make you unable quickly react, but you're probably not going to drive off the road.
- Alcohol can destroy lives. Legal.
- More people commit crimes on alcohol than cannabis.
III. Problems with Prohibition
- Like the prohibition of alcohol, prohibition of cannabis doesn't reduce usage. Before prohibition, there was an estimated 50,000 cannabis smokers in the US. Today, there are over 5 million. That is a 100000% increase.
- It costs $17.7 billion to enforce. This money could be redirected to better use.
- We have a bigger percentage of imprisoned people than any other country of the world, and we jail more people for possession of "narcotics" (Cannabis is not a narcotic) than any other crime, feeding billions to the private prison prohibition industrial complex. Land of the free, right?
- There are plenty of conflicts of interest in prohibition. For example, the companies who do drug tests are making a killing.Not to mention that "drug tests" will not pick up cocaine or heroine after a long weekend of no use.
- Prohibition delivers all of the profit to organized crime. Because of the inflated cost of cannabis due to prohibition (Cannabis would be WORTHLESS if legal), mob members think it's worth killing people over controlling the market. This is happening in your neighborhood.
- OK, I get it, you're a concerned parent and don't want your son / daughter using cannabis. OK, tell them not to. Let's say they're one of the millions of kids who don't listen to their parents on this subject. They get caught with cannabis. Do you want them to go to jail? No, you want to ground them. You don't have that choice.
- Above all, we don't need burecrats telling us what we can or cannot do in the privacy of our own home so long as it does not hurt anyone else. This is a conservative issue.
IV. Positive uses of Cannabis
- Cannabis relieves pain, increases hunger, and calms people down. Perfect drug for coping with chemo. I dare you to tell a cancer patient to put out his / her joint.
- Cannabis can be cultivated into Hemp. Hemp can be used for paper and clothing superior than that of we have today without expending depleting resources. It is also a renewable source of fuel that's growth can cancel out the greenhouse effect. The solution to global warming.
- You can't tax something illegal. If you hate it, support legalizing and taxing the hell out of it.
- Hell, we all need a break from our stressful lives, no? Why do you care if someone uses cannabis when you're drinking a beer?
V. Why the government wants to keep Cannabis illegal
- See III-3.
- If you flip flop on cannabis, you're saying "Oh, sorry, you millions of non-violent people shouldn't have gone to jail. My bad." They aren't going to get re-elected again.
- Many protestors use cannabis. You can't arrest someone for protesting. You can arrest them for using cannabis. No more protests!
- It's a diversion techinique. People are so focused on this problem that they ignore everything else. Exactly what they want.
If you are well informed on the subject, you cannot support prohibition, user or not. For more information, watch "The Union: The Business Behind Getting High".