Though drug users like to think otherwise, there is a reason marijuana is illegal. Though marijuana isn't as harmful as other illicit drugs, it is certainly more harmful than alcohol or cigarettes. It's not quite as easy to "smoke up" in moderation, and the long-term effects on the brain aren't pretty. Hundreds of studies have shown that marijuana is in fact a gateway drug, despite senseless libertarian arguments to the contrary. Also, the legalization would bring a slew of government regulations regarding its use, provided the government was ever dumb enough to do so.

The fact is, money used to purchase marijuana goes somewhere - and that somewhere usually isn't in this country. Domestically grown marijuana accounts for very little of the marijuana used and abused daily in the United States. The Colombian drug trade would be the first to benefit from legalization. With a free trade route provided, it would be much easier for Colombia and other South American countries to turn their millions of acres of coca fields into nice little packages for U.S. consumption. I hope drug users would all be proud to officially support guerrilla terrorism, car bombings and kidnappings worldwide. Though drug users think it's a joke, drug money really does go to support terrorism - roughly half of all terrorist groups use drug trafficking as a major source of funding.