General Argument

Some people argue for the legalization of drugs while others argue no. Most drugs are extremely dangerous and shouldn't be legal. However, Marijuana is not one of them. I will show both sides of the topic and give you my opinion on this controversial issue. First, here are some statistics:

Deaths in the United States in a typical year are as follows:

• Tobacco kills about 400,000
• Alcohol kills about 80,000
• Workplace accidents kill 60,000
• Automobiles kill 40,000
• Cocaine kills about 2,500
• Heroin kills about 2,000
• Aspirin kills about 2,000
• Marijuana kills 0

There has never been a recorded death due to marijuana at any time in US history. All illegal drugs combined kill under 20,000 per year, or a small percent of the number killed by alcohol and tobacco. Tobacco kills more people each year than all of the people killed by all of the illegal drugs in the last one hundred years.

Prisoners:

• 1,360,000 Drug Prisoners in America
• 1.7 million Americans are incarcerated in prisons or jails, more per capita than any other nation.
• Nearly 80% of all prisoners in America are for drug related offenses.
• Ten million people have been arrested for marijuana since 1965.

Imagine our prisons with 1.4 million less people. Or 80% less people. Our country's status as the nation with more prisoners per capita would disappear.

Population:

• America has only 5% of the world population but consumes 60% of ALL illegal drugs produced in the world.
• There are 47 million school age kids in America, currently over 27 million of them try drugs and alcohol each year.

So even though these drugs are illegal it is not curving the consumption of these illegal drugs.

Problems with drugs:
During a 24-hour period in December 1995, at least 60 heroin users in Newark, New Jersey, died after using heroin tainted with scopolamine. Scopolamine is available by prescription primarily for treating motion sickness.

Ergot, a fungal disease of common grains, such as wheat, oats & barley, but especially rye, is a natural source of the hallucinogen, LSD. Extracts of this fungus are sometimes employed to control migraine headaches & hemorrhaging. Uncontrolled consumption, however, can give rise to hallucinations, convulsions & sensations of excruciating pain or burning, known in medieval times as St. Anthony's fire, from the name of the saint customarily invoked to intercede on behalf of victims.

As you can see drugs are still very dangerous. However Marijuana is not even remotely close to the dangers of these.

Don't forget to vote your opinion on the top right poll.

information from http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/gen008.htm