Legalizing marijuana would be bad for our country
I am writing in response to the article written by J. D. Prose concerning statements made by Auditor General Eugene DePasquale on the subject of endorsing legalizing recreational marijuana. To start, there is no such thing as a recreational drug.
I would probably say that the auditor general is elected to his position and that his job involves trying to find ways to save and make money for the state. Therefore, his comments are going to lean towards legalizing marijuana.
I think that we all will agree that legalizing marijuana would help reduce our state’s deficit and also provide more jobs. This will be good for our economy. The only problem is that a lot of people get tunnel vision, and all they look for is the dollar sign. We need to remember that there are two sides on a coin. In other words, we need to look at the other side to legalizing marijuana.
What about the problems that legalizing marijuana will cause? We need to ask ourselves some questions. Will this cause an increase in motor vehicle accidents and deaths, crimes of domestic violence, assaults on children, assaults on females and suicide. In most of these offenses, you will find that alcohol, marijuana and other drugs were in some way connected with these crimes.
We need to also ask ourselves what additional problems and expense could it cause all of our law enforcement agencies? This agency and others, like drug enforcement and drug prevention and rehab centers are the ones that feel the impact on the use of this drug. These are the people that the government needs to put their faith in because these people are on the “front line” everyday and they see the harsh reality of using this drug and the problems it can cause. These people can provide valuable input on the problems we will be faced with if marijuana is legalized.
This is the reason we need to agree with Gov. Wolf that there is a need to further investigate all aspects before we embrace legalization of this drug. We need to let the U. S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions do his job and let him check into the states that have legalized marijuana and see what problems have come up since they put this law in effect.
This article also stated that Sessions’ plan was “crazy” and an “insane idea.” All he wants to do is to research and interview the proper authorities in the states that have legalized marijuana to see if there are any concerns. This makes sense because it will provide valuable information for states that are considering legalizing this drug. This man is more concerned about human life and safety then worrying about the dollar sign.
The people who want marijuana legalized will always use the reason, “alcohol is legal, why not legalize marijuana?” This is not good reasoning. We all know that alcohol is a contributor to tragic events as well as a factor in crimes that are committed. There is a very good chance that the people who want this drug legalized will also drink alcohol. Drinking alcohol and using marijuana can have harsh affects on a lot of people. Let’s use good common sense and don’t compound our problems. Let’s put our efforts toward doing things that will make our country better, not worse.
God bless our state and our country!
Gene Barnhart is a resident of McClellandtown