Why isn't Marijuana legal in the United States??

Do You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?!...Marijuana

1. the cannabis plant
2. a preparation made from the dried flower clusters and leaves of the cannabis plant, usually smoked or eaten to educe euphoria
-The American Heritage Medical Dictionary

With all of the problems and stresses going on in the world, people are trying to find more and more ways to relax. It seems like sleeping, watching a movie, reading a book or listening to music just isn't doing the trick, anymore. It is because of this that people find themselves participating in activities such as social drinking or smoking. But, the problem which is the safest route to go...

...Here is where my issue come into play...why do we have dangerous "drugs" such as alcohol legalized in the United States, but Marijuana isn't?? I mean, I just can't wrap my head around this issue. Lets look at the side effects alcohol, tobacco and marijuana have on the human body.

Alcohol's Effects on the Human Body:
--Hangovers (headaches, nausea, vomiting)
--Weight Gain
--High Blood Pressure
--Cancer (2-4% of all cancer cases are due to alcohol)
--Liver Disease (can cause fatty liver, hepatitis, cirrhosis, and cancer of the liver)
--Alcohol Poisoning (breathing slow and skin gets cold and turns blue)
--Heart or Respiratory Failure (can lead to death)

Tobacco's Effects on the Human Body:
--Mouth and Lung Cancer
--Bronchitis
--Asthma
--Pneumonia
--Coronary Artery Disease
--Smaller Lungs
--Respiratory Illness
--Decreased Physical Fitness
--Unfavorable Lip Profile
--Potential Retardation in the level of Maximum Lung Function
--Death

Marijuana's Effects on the Human Body:
--Problems with Memory and Learning
--Distorted Perception (Sights, Sounds, Time, Touch)
--Trouble with Thinking and Problem Solving
--Loss of Coordination
--Increased Heart Rate

When it comes to alcohol and tobacco, there are many serious health problems that you risk experiencing such as multiple forms of cancer in various parts of the body, issues with the lungs and death. So, here's my problem...we have drugs that are legal to cause us serious bodily harm and even kill us, but we can't have drugs that are legal to help us chill and relax.

Now, I know what most of you are thinking...marijuana also has some side effects. Comedian Katt Williams jokes when he says that the only side effects of smoking marijuana are being, "hungry, happy, sleepy." The thing is, you'd either have to smoke an excessive amount of marijuana a day, you'd have to mix the marijuana with stronger drugs (i.e.--cocaine), or you'd have to drink while smoking excessive amounts of marijuana to experience these side effects. Also, these side effects - if they occur - usually only occur during the time period in which you're smoking.

Deaths due to Impairment:
--Alcohol: 30% of all accidents during the week (and 52% on the weekend) are due to drunk driving accidents; there are also records of hundreds of alcohol overdoses each year
--Tobacco: most causes of lung cancer death (men: 90%, women: 80%) are caused by cigarette smoke
--Marijuana: none reported

So, what grinds my gears is marijuana is the least harmful drug and it isn't legalized in the United States. Why do we have drugs such as alcohol and tobacco - which has been proven to kill - legalized in the United States and not marijuana which hasn't killed anyone or even harmed them?? Does anyone have an opinion or any possible answers??

Discrimination of Gays vs Lesbians

Do You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?!...

Homosexuality
1: the quality or state of being homosexual
2: erotic activity with another from the same sex

-Merriam-Webster Dictionary

What is the difference between gays and lesbians? I just don't get it. I mean, maybe its just me, but when I see two dudes holding hands and kissing, it has the same effect on me as if I were to see two females holding hands and kissing.

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Many men I know claim to be homophobic, but I truly believe they don't know what it means to be homophobic. So, let me break it down to help ya'll out a little bit:

Homophobia
irrational fear of, aversion to,or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals
-Merriam-Webster Dictionary

The first thing I'd like to point out is that the definition clearly states that you have a "fear" of homosexuals. So, if you're saying you're homophobic just because you don't like homosexuals, you're using the word out of context. Second, the definition doesn't discriminate against any gender. The word "homosexuality" includes both gay men as well as lesbian females. So, if you're saying you're homophobic because you don't like gay men or because you don't like lesbian women, you need to find another word.

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Now to get on my ladies for a minute...Now, I know everybody has one or two of those friends in their circle that we like to categorize as a "hater." For those of you who don't know what a hater is, let me break it down:

Hater
(as a noun)
4: intense dislike; extreme aversion or hostility
5: the object of extreme aversion or hostility
-dictionary.com

If you still don't get it, let me give you an example...you're walking around the mall with your friends and you see this REALLY good looking guy walking out of the store. He has a lot of bags in his hands, he dresses real nice, he has a nice smile...when all of a sudden you see another dude walk out of the same store and grab his hand. They do that high school "interlacing fingers" hand holding as they walk throughout the mall. Now, you don't see anything wrong with it, but your friend looks at you with an extremely disappointed look on her face. She stands there in silence as she waits to see if you're going to say something. After about half a minute of silence, she says in her loudest of talking voices, "I KNOW I didn't just see what I thought I saw. I can't believe dat fine brotha is a FRUIT!!" Completely embarrassed, you look back at the couple to see if they heard your friend, hoping to God they didn't. Unfortunately, you make eye contact with one of them which confirms they heard your friend. All you can do is continue to walk in the opposite direction and continue on with your day.

First things first, I know "haters make the world go round," but not when it comes to situations dealing with discrimination. Everyone has feelings and everyone's feelings can get hurt. We all need to watch what we say. Second, be considerate. Every gender, race, religion, social class, clique...group of people have been and still are being discriminated against throughout history up until today. Discrimination will continue until the end of time and maybe even beyond then. We don't need to put our two cents into that pot of hatred...

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--May 2007, two 16 year old girls in Illinois were charged with committing hate crimes against homosexuals by passing out fliers with pictures of two boys kissing and negative remarks about homosexuals.
--On October 6, 1998, Matthew Shepherd - a University of Wyoming student - was pistol whipped, tied to a fence and left to die in freezing cold weather conditions. Arthur Henderson and James McKinney were charged with attempted murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery.

What really grinds my gears is not too long ago Jews were going through concentration camps and being separated from their family and friends and killed off for being Jewish. Not too long ago black people were being lynched, raped, beaten and hung from trees...not even being considered human beings or citizens of the united states. Not too long ago Muslims were being called terrorists and murderers just because they had physical characteristics that are similar to that of an Afghan man or woman. Not too long ago Haitians and Jamaicans were fighting one another for no real reason at all...

The fact of the matter is everyone is different...even when we have the same face (i.e.--identical twins). There is too much hat in this world to fight and kill each other because of our differences.