Pubdate: Wed, 03 May 2000
Source: Spartanburg Herald Journal (SC)
Copyright: 2000 The Spartanburg Herald-Journal 
Contact:  http://www.goupstate.com/
Author: Crystal Scherer

KEEP MARIJUANA ILLEGAL

I would like to address the issue of legalization of
marijuana.

As a teen-ager, I have witnessed the affects that marijuana has on its
users.

Marijuana is an addictive drug that causes short-term and long-term
complications.

To legalize marijuana would be decreasing the value of morality in our
country.

One may argue that legalization would decrease the number of people
who abuse it, but I disagree.

If marijuana is more easily accessible, I feel that it would be used
as commonly and as regularly as tobacco products.

Others argue that marijuana should be legalized to ease the pain of
cancer patients.

I disagree with this also, because marijuana has been proven to cause
cancer, so why offer cancer patients a drug that may possibly
complicate their illness even further?

I think the government should try new ways of banning marijuana
instead of letting it fall more easily into the hands of American citizens.

Crystal Scherer
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