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I have to disagree with most of the above. I personally feel the 'marijuana vs. alcohol' argument is akin to saying, 'Well, its legal to drive holding a cell phone(at least in my state still), cigarette, and Big Mac, but I cant drive with my eyes closed? Not fair!' If marijuana, hypothetically, is responsible for 5% of the automobile accidents that alcohol is involved in, why would you want to compound those figures? Why would you add to those totals? Even so, the only real problem with marijuana that I have is that there is yet an immediate test for it. When someone is too drunk to operate a taxi, airplane, or other heavy machinery, its usually pretty obvious before they get behind the controls. Being high is often much easier to conceal. I know this because I was actually in a car struck by a motorist who passed an alcohol test but it wasnt until two weeks later that the police officially determined he was driving while cannabis-impaired. (no one was hurt)
The argument has been made that it is a personal choice. I dont believe any substance which puts you in an altered state of mind and in less than 100% control of yourself at all times affects just you. Whether it is driving a car, taking care of smalll children, or even sitting next to someone, you are free to live your life how you want, until the very moment you threaten someone else's well being. Some of these substances are legal, some are not. If we cannot trust ourselves with alcohol, why would we throw more fuel on the fire? This is not to say that there arent people who consume both alcohol and marijuana responsibly, but there are also those that do not. And sometimes, too many times, it can hurt, and even kill people. People affected by a 'personal choice' that another person made.
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