I think our state of Washington should delegalize marijuana. The Columbian newspaper can help overturn state Initiative 502, which legalized personal use of small amounts of marijuana.
Legalization of marijuana will increase dependency on government programs, increase an overpopulation of homeless, and cause greater addiction. If we are trying to fight a war against drugs and poverty, we need to start with the delegalizing of marijuana.
Marijuana is proved to be a gateway drug. Hard drugs such as crystal meth, crack cocaine and heroin have plagued this great state. If asked to a heroin addict how he or she started doing drugs, they will often say marijuana was their gateway drug.
Legalization of marijuana will lead to more marijuana abusers with a greater dependency on government assistance. The large majority of high-paying jobs require a drug screening. This gives a marijuana user a choice to either work for middle to low wages or not work at all. We already have an economy in shambles. The more assistance our government has to provide, the weaker our economy will be.
