The question "Should marijuana should be legal?" has been on the forefront of discussions in our society ever since the war on drugs started in the 1970s. We are currently at a point in our country that the activity of smoking marijuana could receive totally different punishments depending on where you live. Ranging from no punishment at all, to thousands of dollars in fines and possible jail time over the exact same offense. How is that fair to younger generations including my own? As we are desensitized to a drug that in some states is extremely widespread and acceptable to consumer but in others it could land you a spot in a jail cell. There is clearly some inconsistency in the views on marijuana throughout the country, my goal of my research is to provide information from the past and the present to be able to come to a conclusion if marijuana should or should not be legal throughout the United States.

Max Hills article "It's Time to Legalize Marijuana" starts off by diving into the past of the hemp leaf in America dating back all the way to the time of George Washington and how over time its uses and reputation have changed dramatically especially after World War II. Then after providing the background information he dives into the main points of his article, the benefits of legalizing marijuana. A couple of his main points are taking power away from the cartel and the money to be made on tax revenue. Max Hills is a blogger, he is part of the younger generation in US and he makes it clear that he is just stating his opinion. Using those facts about our past he comes to a full conclusion that marijuana should be legal for people over the age of 21, just the same as alcohol.

Lucy Steigerwald "Legalizing Weed Will Be Like Ending Prohibition" is more about her concerns that have been brought up as we keep stepping ever closer to legalizing marijuana. Not concerns with the drug itself but with the stand people are taking on the war on drugs because of it. The effects of marijuana aren't completely conclusive and she believes it has become only harder to take a stand on either side of legalization. Lucy is a blog poster and from her perspective no matter what marijuana us less harmful, if you are to ingest too much alcohol you could die if you ingest too much marijuana nine out of ten times you just have a uncomfortable 45 minutes. The article was written in an interesting way because it seems to be coming from a place of complete neutrality compared to starting with a bias and trying to prove your side of the story.

"End Costly and Destructive War on Marijuana - Relatively Harmless Drug Should Be Legal" by Walter Simpson is an extensive article on many well known points that are debated around the idea of legalizing marijuana and the dangers of marijuana compared to other legal drugs. He is coming from a personal experience from when he smoked marijuana and college and is coming from a place of bias of pro legalization. The idea that marijuana has medical properties and is associated with just chilling out and eating lots of pizza. While alcohol gets associated with drunk driving and being belligerent, and that's the drug that is legal for public to consume. Another point Walter Simpson brings up is that the government allows us to make the choice to drink alcohol or smoke tobacco even though there has been proven dangers associated with those drugs, but the public isn't allowed to make the choice to smoke marijuana even though the dangers of those drugs are very similar. 

The question of "Should marijuana should be legal?" has been discussed quite often in the public and especially in the younger generations who have been desensitized to  dangers of the drug and just have been hearing about the medical properties of the drug. All three of these sources have one common idea, that legalizing marijuana is not a bad thing. Which helps confirm my idea that a good amount of the public doesn't see marijuana as a harm to society.  At the same time the article by Lucy Steigerwald brings up a great point that the public needs to understand that even though the war on drugs includes marijuana as a problem, a distinction needs to be made. Separating marijuana from the other drugs that can be much more harmful. Only then can marijuana be legalized in a safe fashion to benefit everyone. This research has benefited me in a way I have narrowed my own views on the topic instead of believing in the general idea that "marijuana isn't bad, it should be legal".

