Marijuana prohibition has been a total failure and is perhaps this country's greatest mistake. Not only has it created criminals out of nearly a third of the country's populace, it costs our society billions of dollars every year, creates a strain on our prison system, and has little or no effect on marijuana use in the US. In some cases, prosecuting marijuana use has turned non-violent, middle class kids into violent and unpredictable, career criminals. Once a person has a criminal conviction on their record, they are far less likely to find a good job and become a useful member of society. Other countries with more liberal drug laws have much lower rates of drug addiction among their people. I invite you to my web-page devoted to raising awareness on the assault on our civil liberties: http://freethegods.blogspot.com/

Those who don't want to dope, they don't. An if u want, u would anyway, so it does not depend on liberal or less liberal drug laws. The rates of drug addiction or alchogol addiction is just an indication of nations ability to survive. People are always looking for something better, actualy they don't want to live their lives and look for something to keep their eyes shut. And here comes marijuana, extasy, heroine, whatever. Because when marijuana brings no relief, and it happens sooner or later, what is next? Addicted people have no immune system..and the World is overpopulated, that's it!

As Mexican drug cartels move into quiet Atlanta neighborhoods, Senators Chambliss and Isakson tell us they'll take NO steps to legalize marijuana because "it might be bad for us". http://tr.im/msHB The cartels murdered more than 6,000 people last year and more than 2,300 so far this year, while marijuana has never killed a single person in the history of man. Our *only* protection against the cartels is to legalize the production and sale of marijuana to adults. We have a choice to make, either allow bars to legally sell marijuana to adults or watch in terror as the cartels conduct their business in our neighborhoods. Tell your legislators what you decide. End the Prohibition!!

I have been smoking marijuana all my life. The am the son of an alcoholic father. We, as a family in the early 70's, had a choice of my father drinking himself to death, (the alcohol had caused cirrosis of the liver, arteria sclerosis, heart problems not to mention the familia castastrophe cause by alcoholism in the house), or smoking marijuana. My dad was 52 years old and we were teenagers. Incredibly enough my father never drank again after he smoked his first joint. He grew his own weed and lived 22 more years. The damage that the alcohol had done eventually killed him. If only he would have started smoking weed in the fifties maybe he would have lived ten more years. I cant drink alcohol. All the men in my family seem to have my fathers disposition for alcohol. None of us drink. A few us do smoke marijuana daily. We do not do any other drugs. We have to hide and smoke because of the law. How right is this?

i would like to know where to buy it as i have been ripped off in vancover

America deserves the freedom to smoke marijuana freely in a dedicated shop. Pot tends to alleviate stress. There is no freedom unless we have that choice. Our country was based on Hemp. Our first flag was made of Hemp. George Washington cultivated it. It's not voo doo it's Hemp. Hemp for America! Stop over crowding our prisons! Pot smokers are NOT criminals.

Marijuana is NOT a drug. It is a weed. Holland and other countries have a long history of handling marijuana with wisdom and not harming millions that continue to be affected by the ignorant and irrational "Drug War"

Enough is enough, It will take decades for some families to recover from the impact of a member being arrested for Cannabis use. Uncle Sam, listen up stop the "Reefer Madness" We the People in tremendous masses have spoken. (roughly, one third of the country’s population, or more consume cannabis for many reasons ) Cannabis has been in use by people throughout countless generations, despite, Very Large and Expensive efforts to ban it. Not to mention the Pain and Suffering caused to oftentimes Patriotic, Decent, families due to arrests, large fines, jail terms, etc. including Huge profits for drug cartels. Cannabis is Not a Physically Addictive substance, unlike most, if not all recreational drugs. Including Alcohol!! Seems to me, that our countries alcoholism rate increases with the rate of pressure put on cannabis consumers. That can't be good. I won't say that cannabis is good for you, even though we know that it does help alleviate chronic pain, as well as increase the appetite of some sick people such as cancer patients. Social security is in shambles along with many Services that are also struggling to keep up with their obligations, businesses we never dreamed would even struggle much less go out or sell out, are gone. Some to other countries, others just out. We tend to stay at war a lot which is extremely expensive!!! The last thing we need to do is continue to waste money on is this Futile War on Drugs; Reagan was wrong, dead wrong to declare War on American Citizens, especially for smoking cannabis! We need to admit it and move forward with new Fair Laws and show the world We Are the Land of The Free! And we are United with sensible laws concerning Cannabis, etc.Such as, alcohol prohibition was a failure, so is cannabis prohibition. We want to lead the World; we can only lead by example.

I have a friend who uses weed so that she can eat and be able to sleep. without it she has to be on pills from the doctors. this is just crazy when all it takes is a couple of hits. i wish they would make it leagle for her to use. she now smoke ciggartte's but that doesn't help. she really wants to give up the cigg's.I myself don't smoke anything but i am all for making it okay. I don't believe we need the strains on our prison systems anymore. they need to be for the one's who do really commit crimes, not pot smokers.

The legalization of Marijuana will do nothing but help our crumbling country. I honestly believe that the legalization of Marijuana will make this country safer from itself, increasing production, lowering crimes and making overall happiness of the people skyrocket... I smoke weed... Why cant the government leave us innocent pot smokers alone? PS: Amsterdam is an awesome place to vacation! :D

I believe that if Obama decided to make marijuana legal that we will pop right out of the economic down fall. Just look at Amsterdam they have never been in a war. It just makes people relaxed and peaceful!!!!!! The best part about it would be that all of the pot dealers would have to get a job instead of making the billions of dollars UNTAXED!! I smoke marijuana and it releaves my back pain better then any pill could ever do, and it also takes all anger out of my body !

I agree marijuana is a plant and it is not as dangerous as tobacco. I can smoke a joint and sleep or I can take a handful of valium or xanax and pain killlers from being hurt in the military. I can't sleep and I cannot work without something for pain and something to sleep. I can take the pills or I can smoke a joint. I would like to smoke the joint but it is illegal and I do not wish to go to jail or deal with street pushers. I go to real Doctors and I am happy they help me with the prescription pills. However if Marijuana were legal I wouldn't have to watch the side effects or worry about being addicted to prescription drugs. I started serving my country when I was 19 and now it is time my country helped take care of me. Legalizing marijuana would help me very much. Look at my blog http://pdunkle.blogspot.com there are articles about marijuana and a few other things I wrote.. enjoy it and leave a comment so I can know how others feel about this problem our entire country has.

I with over half of the rest of the country agree that weed should be legal!! I have lost my job of 12 years because of a random drug test. I was known to be one of the best workers in my department and now I am jobless and can't draw unemployment because I indulged in a joint in the afternoon. I never worked while I was high and never broke anything or hurt anyone. Their is really nothing I can do about what happened to me, but I hate to see such hard workers as myself lose their jobs over marijuana use when I saw people still hungover from the night before and couldn't hardly function and they still have their jobs.

I would like to add that alcohol is legal and people die from drinking too much. However, pot can never be overdosed on and therefore seems to be more safe than alcohol.

No one ever speaks of the savings incurred as a result of the lesser need for law enforcement. Millions of wasted dollars are spent fighting something 100 million plus citizens want to do just to please a bunch of older voters the politcians are afraid of.

I have another statement. In case you wonder why polititcians refuse to vote to legalize pot, think for a moment. Where do you think a great deal of their donations come from? Making pot legal will destroy the huge profits the politicians count on.

After living as a New Jersey MS Patient and using Rx medications for the past 12 years and also an additional 3 years of Lymes Disease Rx medications prior to that, I could not be here today without daily use of VAPORIZED marijuana as the side-effects of all of those Rx medications are far worse than MS itself and marijuana helps to control them in a more pleasant manner with a much lower dosage of Rx Medications like Oxy Contin, Baclofen, Neurontin, Elavil or even Vicadin. Marijuana allows me to be dad of 3 daughters. Without a small amount of marijuana (less than 1 g) at 5 AM I am stuck in bed with dizziness, nausea, chronic pain and heavy spasticity, preventing any boardwalk, beach combing, or anything seasonal activities at all. So when my kids say "What can we do today Dad?" my answer could dramatically change to "nowhere kids I am too sick" depending on my use if it is available or not. NJ Senate Bill S-119 and Assembly Bill A-804 could improve my families' quality of life by a hundred fold. Also the way I vaporize is 100% carcinogen free and done away from my home and family anyway. There isn't even any second hand smoke because it is a vapor, the moisture consumed immediately returns itself to the atmosphere humidity in an entirely different way than smoke and it's ash content. Your's truly, Charles Kwiatkowski Hazlet, NJ 07730

i think the goverment is wrong in keeping marijana illegal. if the u.s. is so broke and there is a way to make money, why not legelize pot. the only reason why alchol is legal is because the rich won't it that way. well folks it's 2009 all most 2010 it about time we legalize it for everyone to use and start bring down the defecet. it's just not a logcail thing to keep it illegal. it's the 2nd dumbest thing the u.s. has done in a long time, first thing was legalize booze, that kills innocent people.

I wrote the blog at http://pdunkle.blogspot.com and I believe that as soon as big business and our governement learns how to effecitvely tax the marijuana industry and yes it is a industry ..they will legalize it so fast your head will spin. I am surprised the tobacco industry hasn't jumped on the band wagon and started selling pot. The only problem with that is they will put so many additives in it that it won't be the same as it is grown. Tobacco is proof of that, pure tobacco from the field doesn't hurt you anywhere near what the tobacco they sell with additives does. write your congressman and tell him/her to legalize marijuana or you will vote for someone that will.