Using Marijuana is Dangerous and Stupid (by Mr. Thickskull)

Marijuana is an illegal substance in the United States, including the state of Wisconsin, and it is rightly so.

Marijuana ruins lives and makes normal people become idiots, and it is a very dangerous psychoactive drug, which is why people who use marijuana are stupid.

1) When people start using marijuana, they automatically sway towards other dangerous drugs as well, such as crack, cocaine, ecstasy, heroine, etc. because marijuana is a "gateway drug". This means, that when people start using marijuana, the world of those other drugs I listed above opens up for them, and people are likely to enter it. This is why marijuana must remain illegal. If it were legalized, who knows how many more horrible drugs everyone would start doing as well?!

2) Marijuana impairs your motor skills. So, to use marijuana and drive is just as dangerous (if not more dangerous) as as it is to drink alcohol and drive. If marijuana were legalized, people would probably drive around high even if it were still illegal to drive high (because people still drive around drunk, even though that is illegal), and as a consequence of this, we would most likely see the rate of accidents/injuries/deaths double, if not triple, the rate of accidents/injuries/deaths already caused by drunk drivers.

3) Marijuana harms your lungs.... probably even more so than smoking cigarettes. And I bet some day we will learn without a doubt, that smoking marijuana increases the risk of developing cancer just as much, if not more, as smoking tobacco does. Furthermore, marijuana causes increased heart rate and panic attacks. This happens to me when I get on airplanes and go in elevators, and it is extremely frightening, and can cause sudden death.

4) A short term effect of marijuana is loss of memory. This is dangerous in situations like cooking, because you might burn your meal, or forget the recipe. Or when you are trying to leave the house, but you keep forgetting where you put your keys. Or you forget what the score is, or whose serve it is, while playing tennis. Or you forget you already fed your cat.

5) Marijuana draws people away from reality. People become paranoid and introspective. They start thinking to themselves a lot, and reflecting on their situation, who they're with, where they are, what they're doing, and what they’re thinking. This is an unnatural and unfamiliar state of existence that people should not experience. Marijuana changes brain activity and makes people think differently and form dangerously high levels of awareness. It’s not good when people get too absorbed in their own thoughts, and end up out in space somewhere, curiously gazing at the stars, or watching Planet Earth, muted, while listening to Pink Floyd, or some other hippie garbage.

6) Marijuana causes delayed reaction time. It slows people down, so they act like idiots when they're high because they don't respond immediately to questions, or get up right away when the phone rings. This slowing down means that all people can do when they’re high is stuff that requires little to no mental work, such as sit on the couch, watch TV, sleep, play video games, indulge in munchies, and have intercourse.

7) According to some sources, marijuana use is positively correlated with later onset of schizophrenia and depression. This means that the more marijuana one consumes early in life, the more likely it is that one will develop one of these mental disorders later on. What’s more, according to an article I read from a 1923 U.S. newspaper, smoking marijuana causes murderous thoughts.

8) Another short term effect of marijuana is the inability to learn and retain information. If marijuana were legalized, people would probably start using it at work and school all the time. And since it is impossible to do a good job at anything while high on marijuana, people in school and work would fail miserably, and our whole society would probably crumble within a year, or less.

9) Marijuana is addictive, just like other drugs such as heroine and crack. So once people start, they grow dependent on it, and they must get treatment in order to stop.

These are all actual effects of the harmful drug marijuana, and they apply to everyone who uses it. I myself, for the reasons above, have never smoked or ingested marijuana ever in my life, and I never will. There is nothing good or safe about using marijuana, and if you do it, you will probably do even more dangerous drugs, get cancer, crash your car, lose the ability to function normally in society, perform terribly at work and school, overfeed your cat, and look like a complete idiot.

In my opinion, people should just stick to what is legal - alcohol. Alcohol is not even a drug, nor could it do the kind of harm that marijuana can, and it is strictly reserved for those who are over the age of 21. With alcohol, you can let all of your emotions run wild, and be sociable, carefree, happy, not withdrawn, and have the courage to say/do things you would never say/do normally (while with marijuana, you naturally become unmotivated, withdrawn, stupid, and slow, so you never really do anything at all).

Also, if you're one of those people who claims to use marijuana for chronic pain or anxiety or something, you should try to get prescription drugs from doctors instead (such as Oxycontin, Percocet, Xanax, etc.). Those are much safer.

So be safe and smart - don't use marijuana, because it is illegal for so many good reasons! Just stick to the legal stuff - alcohol and prescription drugs. It is for your own good!

Sincerely,
Mr. Thickskull