I, like many millions of people worldwide, suffer from depression and obsessive compulsive tendencies... I have been prescribed various medications, ALL of which had a number of negative side-effects, such as fatigue, loss of appetite, sexual side-effects, worsening of depression and anxiety and suicidal thoughts- all of which just made my problems seem FAR worse... On my own accord, I have stopped taking these medications for quite sometime now...

Marijuana, however, has a number of benefits for me. It completely and immediately takes away my anxiety and depression, it relaxes me, it heightens my senses to a most enjoyable state- thus greatly heightening my mood, it destroys social inhibitions and stimulates my appetite and creativity... It gives me these benefits, almost without all the negative side-effects of artificial drugs, which the pharmaceutical companies will throw at you- MANY of which will give you worse symptoms than the ailment you are trying to treat... You do get temporary memory impairment from using the substance- however this impairment is NEVER permanent. There is even a government created myth that THC affects testosterone and estrogen levels in users, this is just pure myth, with NO scientific evidence- created by the government to scare teens away from using the substance. THC in NO way affects the endocrine system. Also, even when used in large amounts, it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE for someone to overdose on THC, which is the opposite case for alcohol, nicotine (in rare cases), prescription and over-the-counter medications, as well as with actual dangerous, illegal drugs... You would have to smoke an unimaginably large dose of marijuana in an unimaginably small time frame, to overdose. Even if someone tried to accomplish this on purpose, for whatever reason, they'd most likely just fall asleep after a certain amount of THC has entered their system- rendering them physically incapable of smoking any more and there would be absolutely NO harm done... There are also government ad campaigns showing how marijuana use leads to vandalism and eating glass. First off, unlike with alcohol, it is very unlikely that you will feel violent and crazy enough to break things- you will most likely want to relax and listen to music and/or draw a picture... With the munchies, it is QUITE unlikely that you will feel like eating some nice, sharp, broken glass- over a delicious and greasy bag of potato chips... Alcohol on the other hand leads to a whole plethora of problems in society (domestic violence, drunk driving, etc...)... Marijuana users tend to be quite passive and peaceful- unlike a LARGE number of alcohol users. The only really negative aspect of using marijuana, which I and other users have to worry about is getting arrested for using it...

It has also been proven scientifically that it is infinitely safer than tobacco and alcohol and that it does not kill brain cells or cause cancer, nor is it (physically) addictive, such as with tobacco and alcohol... Whereas alcohol disrupts brain-cell function, THC emulates brain cell function- without wearing down and killing brain-cells- unlike alcohol and other substances. It also doesn't have any "hang-over" effect, such as with tobacco and alcohol. Although like tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke does contain irritants and carcinogens, people who smoke marijuana tend to smoke far less than those who smoke tobacco- inhaling much less- which results in minimal to no damage to the lungs, in the long run. Even in studies where people smoked marijuana heavily, for prolonged periods of time- there was no irreversible damage to the lungs- studies have even shown that the THC in a marijuana plant may actually protect cells and inhibit or kill the process of cancerous cells. You can even use vaporizers, which filter out all the impurities and deliver into your system only the THC content. In 5,000 years of recorded medical history, there have been NO deaths from its usage- whereas the deaths with tobacco and alcohol are quite NUMEROUS... There is a myth that marijuana is a "gateway" drug. However, statistically, For every 104 people who have used marijuana, there is only one regular user of cocaine and less than one heroin addict. The legal drugs- tobacco and alcohol are FAR more likely to be "gateway" drugs, due to their availability and acceptance in society... Which user of ANY drug HASN'T used any of those before using whatever drug they use now? Studies have shown that people who have used harder drugs in the past actually often resort to marijuana after quitting whatever harder drug they were using and because of this, marijuana is more of a "terminus" drug rather than a "gateway" drug... It also works well as a "comedown drug".The legal status of the drug is more like the "key" to the "gateway". Because the drug is illegal, it is often only obtainable from the black-market, where the dealer may sell other, harder drugs and the user may be enticed into trying new, harder drugs. As stated above, marijuana has been proven to rarely be a "gateway" drug (a drug to entice its users to try something harder). It is more like the dealer, however, who is the "gateway". By legalizing marijuana, it would eliminate the need to acquire the drug on the black-market and thus reducing the risk of users from being enticed by a dealer, into trying harder drugs…

I do, however, condemn people who abuse this drug and do nothing with themselves but bum around all day and get high and who use this drug as a means to escape from reality... I personally believe that, when used in moderation, it makes stress MUCH more tolerable and brings new perspectives into light, to actually properly assess and tend to any problems I may have, whereas had I been without it, it would have been more difficult to assess and tend to a problem. Next to getting me to eat better and making me sleep like a baby at night.  But the same condemnation would go to people who do nothing but sit around all day smoking their lungs out with cigarettes and getting drunk, doing NOTHING productive with themselves... Just like with tobacco and alcohol, marijuana should also be used only by adults- responsibly and in moderation, when one so decides to use it... Also, just as with intoxication of alcohol, or legal medications, one should definitely refrain from driving a vehicle, or operating machinery, or from any activity which may put the individual, or other people at risk- just common sense, really…

Marijuana is a completely natural substance- its a (non-toxic) plant that grows in the dirt). I can't even begin to understand the negative stigma surrounding this plant, when it has so many beneficial attributes- not only when smoked, for medical and recreational purposes, but also with industrial and food applications as well (oil, paper- which it is very efficient at making, in comparison to trees, which would save forests, fabric, nutritious seeds, etc...)... There is a theory that it is illegal, because pharmaceutical, oil, lumber, textile and fabric companies fear they would lose a TON of profit, due to this efficient plant... But in defense of that argument, those industries should just adapt, by utilizing the marijuana plant, to manufacture their products- in turn, this would save a TON of disappearing resources, such as food crops, trees and fossil fuels- in turn helping to save the environment... Before it became illegal, it had been used for all those purposes. It was also the largest American export from the 1860s until 1937, when it became illegal. It was in fact encouraged to be grown. Many early government documents, such as the American Declaration of Independence were in fact printed on hemp paper. Even taxes were allowed to be paid with the crop. Another theory is that it became illegal due to racism, as racism was unfortunately quite common, in that period of time, as its usage was greatly associated with Mexican immigrants and with black people. Marijuana plants also absorb far more carbon dioxide than any other plant and this in turn can resolve our global warming issue and actually repair the hole in the ozone layer, if it were grown in large quantities...

Marijuana certainly is God's lovely gift to us, in the form of a misunderstood plant... I wish that the government would stop propagating a false, negative image of this plant and forget all the lies about this being a hazardous plant and legalize it already! Also, the government is losing far too much money on their losing war against drugs, when they can gain so much more money on tax revenue, just by legalizing it! So MANY people, such as myself shall continue to obtain and use this substance, REGARDLESS of its legal status and shall proudly continue to stand for its beneficial and recreational uses...

BY PHILIP ALARIE 28/02/10