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VGKing said:

Marijuana is a drug. All drugs are bad.

I'm so sick of hearing this ignorant, close-minded crap. Seriously. 

Short-term you might not notice any side effects but when you are smoking it for a long time it will have a negative effect on your health, at least from the smoke alone. Smoking is bad for your lungs. You can't deny that. That alone should be enough reason to not legalize it.

So assuming it is infact bad for your lungs (though not cancer-causing (in fact, it's cancer 'restricting' in some cases and helps people deal with the side effects of cancer treatment), and not that bad according to research), it should be illegal just for that reason alone? That's stupid. Should we make fast food illegal as well? Alcohol? Hundreds of prescription meds? They're all a million times worse. Even at the cost of thousands being incarcerated for victimless crimes? What about people who use it medically? There are people out there with diseases like parkinsons that struggle to function without it. 

Also, if you use a bong, there's hardly any effect on your lungs, and if you use a vaporizer there's none at all. 

There is research out there that marijuana use leads to psyhological problems. Of course determining if there were already psyhological problems to begin with is hard to prove so smoking could have just worsened any existing conditions.

Link to studies? Because from what I've read the only potential negative mental effect is an increased risk in developing schizophrenia if you smoke heavily for years, and start from a young age... http://robertlindsay.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/does-marijuana-cause-schizophrenia/ 

This is easily avoidable, weed can actually be beneficial to your brain in numerous ways according to the article and its links, and there are studies that find no link at all: http://www.democraticunderground.com/117036

The problem with weed is how it is promoted as being "cool" by rappers. Kids think its cool to smoke weed and use it as a way to "fit in" with the other cool kids. This is a major issue that isn't going to go away anytime soon. Legalizing marijuana will only make kids have easier access to this drug.

The opposite is true. If it's legal, you'd have to give ID showing you're 18 to 99% of shops (there'll be a few dodgy ones), but does a dealer need ID? Of course not. As a 17 year old, it's FAR easier for me to get weed than booze.