Response to "High Time for Change"

I agree with the Home of The Brave History’s article “High Time for Change” that the federal government should decriminalize marijuana. Not only does it not make any sense, but all evidence points to positive effects of legalized marijuana. First of all no negative effects can be found from a medical standpoint. Not only is the drug not a physically addictive drug, but it has actually been found that it can be GOOD for health purposes, for example, medical marijuana. On the other hand, two legal substances, alcohol and tobacco, not only are physically addictive, but can both lead to death. Moreover, they can harm the third party, as in drunk driving and second-hand smoke, in contrast to marijuana which has no effect on the third party, but only the individual. The only negative effect one can find of marijuana is the illegal drug trade, which is dangerous. Drug trafficking not only results in gangs and violence, but the incarceration of many Americans. The legalization of marijuana would not only eliminate the danger of the illegal drug trade, but halt the imprisonment of a substantial number of potential harmless drug offenders. It is baffling when drugs like salvia, a hallucinogen, are legal and marijuana is not. It seems that “The War on Drugs”, at least in the terms of marijuana, is the prosecution of the uninformed against the individual’s clear right to personal freedom.