I Oppose Legalizing Marijuana

A few Counties have put advisory referendum on their county ballots.  The referendums are seeking support for asking the state to legalize marijuana.

Today, as I left a restaurant after eating dinner, I found a card on my windshield advocating for the legalization of marijuana.  Similar cards had been placed on all the cars in the parking lot.

I absolutely oppose legalizing marijuana, and would oppose any ballot initiative related to the legalization of marijuana.  I know this is an issue in which many of my Republican and Democrat neighbors will agree with me, and a few of my Republican and Democrat neighbors will disagree.

Rationalization is the strongest human drive.  Marijuana users want to rationalize their favorite vice as non-addictive and non-harmful.  Research does show that marijuana has harmful health effects, and is addictive.

Moreover, a recent trend that has emerged is extremely alarming.  Drug dealers, seeing marijuana as a low profit product, are finding ways to turn it into a high profit product.  Lacing marijuana with heroin or fentanyl is one method they have employed, with the hopes of turning marijuana addicts into heroin addicts.  Creating artificial marijuana, often laced with chemicals like rat poison, is another emerging method to increase the profitability of marijuana sales.

I will also oppose medical marijuana, which is the smoking of marijuana for allegedly medical reasons.

What will I support:
I will support research into medications (in pill form) that provide no recreational value, have no addictive qualities, and help treat diseases.  There is some promising research related to pills that treat epilepsy, that use a part of the marijuana plant in a non-recreational form.  If I had a kid who had epilepsy, and there was a pill that would help control it, I'd want him to have that pill (assuming it had no addictive properties).  So I support research into learning more about these potential medications, including potential benefits and side effects, along with addictive qualities.