Overall, i think that this article has some good points, yet there are few statements in this article that are not true or misleading from what i know.
"This is notable because, whatever else it is, marijuana is not healthy."
This isn't a clear fact at all. There are many indications that marijuana has certain health benefits and there is a dearth of concrete information as to it's health detriments. Basically it seems that it may cause mentally unstable people to become even more unstable. It may possibly impair the normal mental growth of teenagers.Neither of these have been proven in any way, just hypothesized. And the argument that you can get high and drive is in my opinion not a unhealthy aspect of weed, but a possible abuse of it, and certainly not a reason for it to be illegal.
" liberals wage political war against genetically modified organisms, french fries and tubby kids, yet stand idly by, or worse,support the legalization of a mind-impairing substance known to be addictive and have deleterious effects on the brain."
Weed is not addictive. It can become a bad habit but is not chemically addictive Calling it addictive is like calling ice cream an addictive substance since after you have had it you crave more.
It is mind impairing but only while you are high, just like alcohol, and it does have deleterious affects on the brain but so does eating red meat (they both kill comparable amounts of brain cells).
" For many years, health-conscious liberals have waged a deafening, public war against cigarettes. Smoking bans in public places like restaurants and bars have been enacted in states all over the country. Recently, New York City, New Jersey and several other cities and states have extended those bans to include the newest tobacco fad—e-cigarettes. Yet, when it comes to smoking marijuana? Crickets."
Interestingly enough studies have not found any link between marijuana use and lung cancer despite the logical connection to smoking (science has no clue what the difference may be). It is therefor exceedingly easy to make the case that smoking shouldn't be allowed in places that others may have to inhale 2nd hand smoke and be at higher risk of lung cancer, while no evidence to such a risk from 2nd hand (or first hand) marijuana inhalation exists!
That being said, I have never smoked marijuana nor do i think it is a good habit. But i do think it should be legal along with cigs alcohol trans-fats and HUGE softdrinks!!
