Don’t Tell Me What I Can Do to My Body!

In most of my posts I have pushed for marijuana legalization on the arguments of crime, the economy, and politics. I have yet to argue for another very important reason that should be equally represented. That reason is our personal freedom. Yes freedom, the very thing that we as Americans pride ourselves on. You can’t escape the word from popping up all over the place on the news and in politics. It is strange how we pride ourselves on this word so much yet we do not fully support it in our actions. If we were truly free we would have the ability to choose what we can or cannot do with our own bodies indiscriminately, yet the government is telling us that if we consume marijuana that we will be arrested. If we inhale just a miniscule amount of smoke into our own lungs we are breaking the law. How does smoking marijuana in the privacy of your own home make anyone else less safe? In this situation we are being prohibited from exercising our personal liberty. The government thinks that it knows what is best for you but only you truly know what is best for yourself.

                The government claims that it keeps marijuana illegal for our own good, that they are somehow saving us from ourselves. This brings up many disturbing realities of how our government views us. The government is essentially telling you that you do not have the ability to make informed decisions on your own. They believe that they have to make these decisions for you because it’s for your own good. Shouldn’t this be left up to the individual? The government has shown lack of faith in your ability to make informed and educated decisions about your own body. You need to tell the government that your body and personal well being are none of their business.

                We make decisions about our health everyday and for the most part the government stays out of our way. For example we have the choice to partake in drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes. The government allows us to put these substances into our bodies and both alcohol and tobacco are arguably more dangerous than marijuana. The government gives us the necessary information about how these substances affect our health, and this allows us to make the choice on whether or not to participate in drinking or smoking. Why should marijuana be any different? Why does the government find it necessary to create scare tactics about marijuana instead of just giving us the facts and letting us make our own decisions on the matter? The anti marijuana supporters may try to make the case that marijuana is somehow more dangerous than alcohol or tobacco; but, If this is the case, then why have some states already legalize medical marijuana to treat people? Apparently (in the medical community) the plant is seen as beneficial to personal health. The more studies that are done about marijuana the more we will find that much of what we have been told about it is false.  

                We as Americans pride ourselves on the concept of freedom. No other people on this earth love freedom more than Americans. Unfortunately some personal freedom is being denied to us. Who profits off of this denial of personal freedom? Obviously we do not and the government doesn’t either. After all, the government spends millions of taxpayer dollars to keep marijuana out of the country every year. In the end the only people that profit from it are the criminals who are taking advantage of marijuana prohibition by selling it for a profit. When will we come to the realization that we can profit from more personal freedom?