by Richard Serra

Created on: October 26, 2009

The time for legalization has been a long time coming, and it can happen anytime soon. The fears of all that the drug users were led to believe back in the 30s couldn't be more comically emphasized than in the movie "Refer Madness." As time went on, it became more and more apparent to the public that the government would stop at nothing to brainwash users and potential users of the addiction they would face, as well as deadly consequences.

Today, it's almost laughable to put a spin on the most innocent of drugs as some sort of gateway to stronger drugs, or life altering addiction. Although they still try, it's obvious that the majority of people now accept the benefits that can be had by it's legalization. To site a few examples of how the opposer's only use selective facts that would appear very negative, the advocates can counter those facts easily by providing the "real" facts.

Take "It causes memory loss," that is a fact, but the real fact is that it is only during the first hour to an hour and a half, and then everything begins to become more normal to the point where memory is fully functional. Another would be "It has ten time more tar and nicotine," which is true. But they don't tell you that the average pot smoker's does one or two joints a day, and that the lungs clear completely the next day.

A cigarette smoker smokes all day long, and never gives the lungs a chance to clear, thereby causing a build up of all the tars associated with continuous smoking. Also, in the case of pot, there isn't the craving for lighting up. It just doesn't cause the same addiction as tobacco. There again, it's not smoked enough to be addicted from the nicotine, nor enough to build up tars.

So for every single negative that the opposer's would like to use to defeat it's legalization, the real evidence is what they don't tell you that would make their efforts to block it look ridiculous. It's not just about it's legalization for use, but it has to be considered for what it means to our economy. No more money wasted on fighting the smuggling of it into the country. No more money wasted for time and effort put in to arrest otherwise very law abiding citizens who just like to light up.

No money wasted using the courts to deal out a jail sentence which in turn costs millions to taxpayers. This list can go on and on as far as how much can be saved. But the other side of it is, how much can the government make by selling it in State stores, or taxing the revenues generated by the legal sellers.

The new windfall of revenue can be used to fight the hard drug dealers, and build new facilities to incarcerate them. Also, more rehab centers can be developed to help addicts recover normalcy. I finally have come to my own conclusion about the benefits of this drug, but only after years of believing what the opposer's would have us believe.

As any writer would know, the only way to get a story straight is to do some research on any given topic, and I can tell you that after exhausting all the answers relative to it's positives and negatives, pot has to be the best kept secret of the century as far as it's benefits for medical use. So many can live out their lives in a more comfortable way thanks to the properties of the drug that produces much needed relief of many different health problems that millions suffer.

It doesn't cure the problems, it just makes them less noticeable, and it's almost immediate. So far those who legitimately need the drug, it's a blessing to them, and for those who just want it for recreation, just don't drive under the influence. Not that you'll kill someone because your driving too fast, no, it's because someone would want to kill you for driving too slow. True.

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