Loquitur Dome: T~e Eternal De~~!!.,,.,ndwomen

They have all smoked the reefer, ganja, or whatever you kids are calling it these days. And the last I checked, they were all still doing ok.

So guess what? I believe that marijuana should be legalized. If you really stop and examine the hard facts, the criminalization of marijuana is just as much a mistake as prohibition was, if not more so.

First off, I am not saying to stop fighting the war on drugs. Drugs destroy lives, either directly through addiction and overdoses, or indirectly by leading to crime. But, as anyone who will be blunt will tell you, marijuana is not a particularly dangerous drug. Pharmacies are stuffed with legal substances a lot more dangerous and addictive than cannibis. It's like Canada; there's a lot of.it, but it's pretty harmless.

And how is that war on marijuana going? I recently saw a commercial ad aimed at adolescents claiming that not everyone smokes pot. "Only 1 in 4 teenagers smoke pot," the commercial said. Think about it. Is that something to brag about? If 1 in 4 teenagers were taking Pepto Bismol, it would be a national health crisis. 1 in 4 teens smoke pot, and that's considered success. Go figure.

Let's discuss how many fatalities have been caused by smoking marijuana (or baking it into tasty brownies). The total: 0. Look it up. You can die from swallowing too much toothpaste, you can die from eating a cheeseburger at a restaurant, but you won't die from smoking marijuana .. ·

As a matter of fact, there are many who believe that marijuana has helped to prolong their lives.

There are currently nine states