by Richard Serra

Created on: March 08, 2010   Last Updated: March 09, 2010

If there were such a way to curb drug abuse, I'm sure we would have found it by now. In the 30's, the government tried everything to scare people into thinking that even the most harmless drug, marijuana, was a killer drug, as well as the most addictive. No matter what kind of propaganda that was used, it still did not decrease demand for it, as well as other hard drugs.

It appears that when people are given a choice as to whether or not they can do something, they have a more relaxed attitude about trying something that once was restricted, and now approved by the government. The attraction for doing something that isn't allowed, goes all the way back to Adam and Eve.

It was because of the temptation to find out why they were not permitted to eat the so-called apple that got them into trouble. If there were no restrictions, the temptation would have never been there, and consequently, they wouldn't have broken one of Gods rules. Was this really the case? We weren't there, so we have to go by what has been written.

In the case of drugs, there are so many who do break the law, and this brings the curiosity level to another level for those who never did drugs. There hasn't been enough via educating our young people about the real effects hard drugs have on their system, and they do not know until it's too late.

Since marijuana and all the myths about it's danger have been proved wrong, and that it actually has a lot of medicinal use, it should be removed from the list of dangerous drugs, legalized, and rules should be followed as to how, or who should be able to purchase it legally. Whisky kills hundreds of thousands each year, while cigarettes kill millions each year. Yet these two killers are legal.

Just because it's legal, it doesn't mean everyone is going to go out and smoke cigarettes, or drink themselves into a stupor. It would be the same with marijuana. Given a choice, most who never smoked, probably will never try it. Those who have, and obtained it illegally, always faced criminal charges, and wouldn't stop regardless of the laws.

By legalizing marijuana, we save on the costs of incarcerating otherwise innocent people, as well as not tying up the court system. Taxing the drug heavily, the government would rake in billions annually to build rehab centers for treating those who are addicted to hard drugs.

The money saved each year combating it's import, or law enforcement time used to pounce on domestic growers, could be better used to help combat the

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