"One of the most persistent and unusual aspects of human behaviour, observable in all cultures and through all of history, is man's dissatisfaction with his ordinary state of consciousness and the consequent development of innumerable methods for altering it. Our normal pattern of thought and feeling, useful in many ways, never seems to be enough for some people." 1

Marijuana is in many ways not as harmful a break, in comparison to some drugs that have been made legal by our government, an institution in society responsible the for well being of their citizens. If legalized, benefits would include billions of dollars in revenue, additional employment, and medicine. Recreationally, marijuana could provide a safer alternative to using alcohol or tobacco.

Without question there have been criticisms of marijuana. An important concern is that marijuana maybe a gateway drug that causes progressi

These numbers are alarming. John Morgan insisted to the U.S. Senate Committee, marijuana is not as harmful as cigarettes, because even a "heavy" smoker, may smoke 5,6, or 7 joints per day, while the average cigarette smoker may inhale 25 cigarettes per day or more. The premise is focused on the amount of smoke per day and accumulating over time. His research has shown that marijuana smokers do suffer from symptoms of lung damage, but not serious conditions related to cigarette smoke such as lung cancer, emphysema, or cause birth anomalies in fetuses.

People who smoke marijuana do not belong in jail, as the punishment does not fit the crime. Canadians who smoke marijuana are not criminals. They are mostly hard working, tax contributing citizens. The majority of them are definitely non-violent individuals. Most people use marijuana recreationally as a substitute for alcohol and/or tobacco. Should this be a crime?

Justice is represented world wide by the 'scales of justice'. Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco, plus all the other benefits mentioned above has lead to these scales being off balance. It is due time to legalize marijuana.

Clearly, both alcohol and tobacco are major social burdens responsible for the deaths of many Canadians, and millions of people worldwide. Yet they both remain legal. Every year lives are lost, shouldn't the government give society a natural and safer option that is not addictive to use recreationally?

"In 1995, one in six deaths in Canada was caused by smoking; in that year, there were 34,728 deaths resulting from tobacco use and 500,345 years of potential life lost to tobacco use. It is estimated that smoking is responsible for at least one quarter of all deaths in Canada of people between the ages of 35 and 84.

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