I'll add my $.02 in here. I am firmly against the legalization of drugs. I can see how people would think that a seemingly insignificant drug like marijuana does not pose a risk to anyone and, therefore, should not be banned. But I have seen firsthand how doing drugs, even the "harmless" ones, can change a person.
In college, I had a boyfriend who I loved more than anyone else in this world (and still do). We had a very serious relationship and he wanted us to get married after college. I truly thought that I would be with him forever.
He had been introduced to pot in high school and used it occasionally, but he only smoked when his high school buddies would come to visit. He knew I didn't approve, and was respectful of that. Then, after almost 2 years together, he started hanging out with a new group of friends who were heavily into marijuana, among other things. These guys would wake up and smoke a joint before their 8 o'clock classes! (And, just for the record, none of them were Greek.)
As he began using marijuana more often, my boyfriend's personality started changing. He was more edgy and impatient, his temper was shorter, and he wanted to spend all of his time with his druggie friends. He didn't notice that he was acting differently, and would get very angry with me when I would mention it.
Things kept deteriorating and, that summer, while I was doing an internship, he spent the time bartending at the beach. I could tell by our phone conversations that something wasn't right. Somehow, I just knew that he was into things bigger than pot. We broke up that summer. He finally admitted after we got back to school in the fall that he had begun using cocaine. Nothing I said got through to him.
Now, almost 4 years later, we don't speak at all. Mutual friends tell me that he is still in our college town. Although he received his degree 2 years ago, he works for a local restaurant and spends his time bartending there. His ambition has gone out the window.
He had so much promise before drugs got in the way! I'm sorry that this is so long, but I just want people to know what kind of an effect that drugs have on people. Tests have proven that using "harmless" drugs like marijuana opens the door to more dangerous drugs. It is for this reason that I don't think ANY of these drugs should be legalized. All they do is ruin lives. Not just the lives of the drug users, but of their loved ones as well.
[This message has been edited by dzrose93 (edited May 03, 2001).]
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