I would have to agree. It pisses me off to no end how some people can attack drugs without having firsthand experience with any. I mean, I find being drunk worse than being stoned, by quite a bit. I drink because it's legal, and it's something more people can do, so I can enjoy myself with a larger group of people. Sure, being drunk is somewhat fun, but I much prefer being stoned. Most people who are opposed to marijuana know next to nothing about marijuana, and that is what truly pisses me off about the opposition against it. So many people demonize marijuana as some evil drug that takes over people's lives, destroys them from the inside out, makes them into gang members, makes the irresponsible, and causes violence. But they don't realize that a) marijuana is not physically addictive, and people who get addicted to it have an addictive personality, and so would be at risk of alcoholism as well, b) most people who's loves are bad because they only care about getting stoned would likely not amount to much anyway, and if it would, they are likely the sort of person who could very easily have been controlled by any other thing, like alcohol, or some excuse to become lazy and slack off, c) gangs and violence are only connected to marijuana because it is illegal, and is forced into the underground system as a way that they can fund themselves, and legalization would take a lot of power away from these groups, lowering the amount of violence associated with marijuana by a very large amount, d) most people who do marijuana now (the stoners who get all the attention anyway) are irresponsible before they get into weed, which is why they're into weed in the first place.
Nearly every problem associated with marijuana is in fact caused in some way by the illegal nature of the drug, or by the misinformation and fear mongering of the government.
That goes for many drugs as well.
Honestly, I believe that before you can make a decision on a matter such as the legality of a drug, you must understand what the drug really is. If you were to compare alcohol to marijuana in a chemical against chemical evaluation, alcohol is quite a bit more toxic, and quite a bit less medically useful than marijuana, and yet, it is legal. Why? The government made an attempt to make it illegal before.. what happened? Exactly the same thing that has happened to marijuana: crooks got involved with it and made a LOT of money, and it didn't solve a thing for the government. Sure, the prohibition was started for good reasons: alcoholism was rampant, and was a very big problem in society, but the prohibition did nothing to stop it. It simply gave away the government's share of tax money, as well as their control over it's sale, to a bunch of crooks. It solved nothing, and neither is this "war on drugs" that is failing so badly.
The biggest reason that marijuana won't be legal any time soon is that very few people really understand it. I'm not just talking about it as a drug, but the plant itself. Hemp is an EXTREMELY versatile plant, in reality. Food, clothing, materials, and MANY other things can be manufactured with hemp products. Alternative vegetable oils, clothing that is much more durable than even denim jeans, food products made from the seeds... The list goes on and on. And all this is denied, simply because the government doesn't understand how safe marijuana is as a recreational drug.
Many people are absolutely fine with only smoking weed. Lots of people have said to me that they would never touch anything but weed, because they have heard some scary shit about the other drugs, or they really understand them (heroin, crystal meth, etc. are absolutely TERRIBLE for your health). But does the government understand that? No. Many people are very responsible when they smoke weed, i know quite a few people who are academic, smart, responsible, and also happen to smoke weed. Bud those are the people you never hear about. You never hear about affluent children smoking weed and having fun like that, and being responsible. It's only the bad that ever comes out. You never hear about someone who smokes weed, takes a test at school high and does great, because they were calm, and didn't get nervous. You only hear about the stoners who get caught smoking a joint right outside the principals office and mouth off at the teachers because they're a bunch of jackasses, stoned or sober.
This shit REALLY pisses me off.
Oh, and sorry bout the rant.
