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I used to scorn the herb. I really did. I used to automatically attach negativity to anything and anyone associated with marijuana. It was a natural instinct that had been driven deep into my mind sometime during my education. I did not know why I scorned it; I only knew that my mom, my dad, my teachers, my government, my ten-year-old sister, my priest, and that guy from the school assembly all looked down upon it, so I did too. Even after I started drinking, I still viewed marijuana as being on another level of abuse and ignorance.

Then I took my first puff and never looked back.

It's that one puff that separates the two factions. The politicians smoke their cigarettes and get smashed at the office Christmas party, but when a certain non-addictive substance less harmful than alcohol arises in the conversation, the self-righteous do-gooders shake their fists and scorn those "hippies" and their destructive influence on America. If only they could take that one puff, that one hit that opens up a world of truth.

The truth is this: there has never been a legitimate argument for the banning of marijuana. When cigarettes blacken lungs, alcohol destroys livers, and cough syrup produces Lil Wayne lyrics, marijuana cannot possibly be viewed as any more detrimental to society than the plethora of other harmful legal substances out there. It can in fact prove beneficial in the world of medicine, but this is not the only reason for legalization. It's true that marijuana can lead to the abuse of other drugs, especially in young, impressionable teens, but it's the illicitness of weed that makes this world of drugs so mysterious to teenagers, leading to irresponsible and uneducated abuse. Teens in Europe can legally drink even at the age of 16. They enjoy a glass or two of wine at dinner with their families, and because the mystery of the substance has been removed at such an early age, binge drinking and abuse tends to drastically decrease. The same logic must be applied to marijuana. Remove the mystery, remove the abuse.

We've been brainwashed. People scorn marijuana because it's the thing to do, not because they know anything about it. Every so often I take a seat in my friend's basement and light up, and when I emerge from that basement, I emerge a changed man with an uncontrollable case of the giggles. It's an incredible, peaceful, untouchable feeling, one that the government has no right to deny the American people; and it's a denial that is not even in the government's best interest. How many millions of dollars and how much effort could be saved without having to worry about cracking down on illegal drug use? It is an unfathomable waste of energy for a cause that has no legitimate argument.

We as a nation have to take that first puff and stop fearing a false demon. There's enough to worry about already without having to perpetuate a worthless ban. Marijuana legalization would open up a new world of medicine, it would remove the mystery of drugs and reduce drug abuse, and if nothing else, a nationwide case of the munchies would offer a powerful boost to the snack industry.

It's time to stop being afraid and go green.

Learn more about this author, Armen Changelian.
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