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Legalizing Marijua

Over two-hundred years ago, when our forefathers gathered together to write the Declaration of Independence, they included a popularized phrase that summarized what the entire foundation of this country was built upon. The phrase, “Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness”, was labeled as the “inalienable rights”, or non transferrable rights, of every citizen of the United States of America. Yet today, those rights are being regulated to an arguably contradictable level. It goes without saying that ensuring those rights for one means establishing a set of laws that protect another, but to what extent must the government go to accomplish that. It is hard to accept gay marriage or not wearing a seatbelt as a potential threat to any of these rights towards another, and yet, laws still exists that ban you from doing so. The real question is, “To what extent should the government go to protect its people? “
During the beginning of the 20th century marijuana was brought into the United States by Mexicans who came up looking for work. During this time, the government felt the need to take control and could do so by establishing laws, including the interdiction of marijuana. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics’ Commissioner, Harry A. Anslinger dedicated himself to rid America of drugs by inducing artificial facts into the public claiming marijuana caused temporary insanity, violent tendencies, and an uncontrollable urge for sex, and was overwhelmingly addictive. These outrageous notions are what caused terrified voters to sign into law the Marijuana Tax Act. This act banned marijuana in all fifty states, and was done so without any public debate or scientific inquiry.
This installment of fear into the public using distorted facts is not just a method of the past, but can be seen today as well. Starting in elementary school, anti-drug commercials funded by the government receive 195 million dollars a year to subject students to the dangers of drugs. One commercial portrays a...