Chloe's Chronicles

 
 
I recently got caught up in a torrent of tweets on Twitter about why I am against the legalization of Marijuana.  Rather than firing off tiny 140 character squeaks trying to explain my position on this issue, I've decided to concise my thoughts into a blog post. 

First, I believe in freedom of the individual, as long as that person's activities are not harmful to others, or negatively affect society as a whole.  This is obviously why there are laws against assaulting or killing people, walking around in public nude, driving drunk or too fast etc.  

There are certain self-destructive people (alcoholics, smokers) whose actions negatively affect themselves, their family, friends and coworkers, but who are not breaking the law.  Those in favor of legalizing marijuana look at these people and say "See?  Cigarettes and Alcohol are just as bad as, if not worse than Marijuana!"  They think that alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana are somehow interchangeable, and if cigarettes and alcohol are legal, marijuana should be legal too. 

The premise of their argument is flawed, because cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana are three very different things.