Marijuana has long been a very controversial drug. It's had it's detractors and had many claims against it, some of them true, yet continuously, people are always wondering how it got illegal in the first place:

While it likely isn't as ridiculous as that scene, the reason it became pretty illegal was primarily due to the end of prohibition, when Harry Ansinger, who at the time was the head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, decided that his firm needed a new purchase, and as a result, came to the public with the "consequences" of marijuana. It's worth noting that he didn't even believe these facts he was spewing. In other words, he claimed it led to insanity, and made people angry and unable to think, when in fact all of those facts are disputable at the very least. Of course, the divide among marijuana nowadays has tended to be significantly less due to the success of legalization in a few major states, particularly in Colorado. In fact, on January 1st of this year, California was set to open dispensaries following it's vote for legalization last year.

This is something that is now being disputed, as Jeff Sessions and the Trump administration has come out and tried to have a serious crackdown on marijuana. It has led to the state and various lawmakerspushing back significantly, but it must be concerning to those businesses that just opened that the federal government could come in and shut it down:

As has been the case for years now, it does appear that it is in fact the states' decisions that will decide whether or not the crackdown actually takes effect- more effectively the prosecutors in those states- and frankly, given the popularity of the movement, it's a move that has led some within the republican party to get increasingly nervous about the midterm elections in 2018. It has also led some to speculate that this crackdown will only help marijuana's quest towards federal legalization, which while I don't personally agree with that logic, I guess I could at least understand the thought process behind it.

I've talked previously about Jeff Sessions, particularly his quote about the Ku Klux Klan in which he said "I thought those guys were okay until I learned they smoked pot". It is politicians, and frankly people, like him that are the exact reason that other countries laugh at us. It is people like him that are the reason why people are for making America "great again", because America has allowed us to not only enable and approve of him, but put people like him in charge.

Now, on weed specifically. I personally think it should be legal but I can understand arguments for and against legalization. The best argument for legalization is a) the success financially it has had in the states in which it has been legalized, b) the fact that the reason it was illegal in the first place is dubious, and c) there is a reasonable argument to be made that the negative effects and consequences of weed are significantly less than that of tobacco and more prominently, alcohol. To be honest, I agree with all these points, along with the fact that medical marijuana absolutely serves a purpose in today's society, and in my view, is absolutely necessary.

I also agree with the fact that it is still in fact a drug, and like any drug, you can get addicted to, or at least dependent on it, to the point where you in fact need it to function normally. While I know people who do smoke every day and can function normally, the mere dependency on it is something that makes you rethink whether or not it is something that truly "isn't addictive". I don't entirely believe it is a gateway drug, although I'm not going to fully dispute that because I've seen it be exactly that. The counter argument to this is that there is multiple things- tobacco, alcohol- that have these exact same problems, which is true, but given the stigma against weed- fair or unfair- I doubt that argument is one that will get the job done.

Regardless though, I think it is a dumb decision from both a political and a financial perspective, as even though many in the states that are predominantly Republican aren't in favor of legalization, it is hard to look at the facts about the drug, along with the success of legalization in states and how it has helped their economies, and be fully opposed to it. The fact that Sessions, someone who absolutely shouldn't have anywhere close to a prominent role representing us, is in charge of this crackdown only makes it look worse. While I don't think it has to be legal federally, to go the opposite direction after the success of it is totally ridiculous, and a take that endangers the Republican party significantly.