Jesus said, "Let he, [or she,] who is without sin cast the first stone." (John 8:7) Jailing someone for drug use, destroying their life even further than the drug would, is throwing the first stone. Permanently scarring the person for drug use is throwing the first stone. The fact is one group of people wants another group of people to stop doing something that's less harmful than alcohol, or at least it would be if it wasn't so carelessly manufactured, which is the product of the Black Market. It is interesting. Our leading cause of death is tobacco and it is not only legal, it provides a healthy (ironic, I know) income of crucial taxes that we're going to use for health care. Taxation of drugs would provide more health care. By legalizing marijuana, you also legalize industrial hemp; this would provide a vast line of benefits, certainly not within the scope of this letter limited to 5k characters.

Let us talk in terms of crime. As law cracks down on the Black Market, crime rates increase. This is not a sign of anything working. This is a sign that fighting the Black Market is hopeless. The more you fight, the worse the crime gets. Prices increase (which the drug dealers just love), making it harder and harder for the consumer (not always an addict) to buy the drug, and the seriously addicted may consider theft as an option. Tightening down on the Black Market causes more crime and more violence. We see this happening in Mexico right now. All you do when you take down a drug lord is create a vacuum that must be filled by someone else. You did not get rid of the consumer. There are other healthier ways of getting rid of the consumers. Bruteforce tactics in society are inhumane and irresponsible. Drug use should be treated as a health care issue, not a legal issue. My health record should remain private, and in my opinion a criminal drug record infringes on my health privacy.

I think we're better than the childishness that states, "You must be on drugs if you want to legalize drugs." This is hardly the truth. People were asked if they would start using drugs if they were legalized, and over 90% said no. There is a much simpler way of fighting drug addiction, one perfectly equipped to handle the addicts: health care. Allowing these patients to go back out and possibly relapse back onto Black Market drugs, which always vary in potency, sometimes causing overdose, is inhumane.