A war against marijuana is probably the most senseless thing that could ever happen. I recently saw a drug awareness video that said marijuana is as dangerous as methamphetamines; comparing the two isn't logical. Responsible individuals should be able to smoke marijuana whenever they wish at a legal age. People who drink daily would have a much worse problem then people who smoke marijuana regularly . Marijuana is much safer than alcohol. Marijuana should be legal to people who are of drinking age or maybe even younger.

When elected to Congress, I will immediately move to legalize and regulate the sale of marijuana. Tacit legalization through state-by-state decriminalization and medical cannabis (as tested in California since 1996) has proven a disastrous failure. Our prisons are dangerous and overcrowded, non-violent criminals who could easily be rehabilitated languish under harsh minimum sentences, and Mexican cartels and urban gangsters flourish. Prohibition of marijuana, like alcohol before it, has proved foolish and far too costly. Legalization would not only reduce drug-related violence, it would create funds for increased mental health funding and counseling for those who find themselves dependent on the drug.

Fervor for liberty and hope for a new life, these were the driving forces for many early American settlers' in their choice to leave all that they knew and had behind. Though passion may have filled the hearts of so many pioneers, it was ultimately the wind which filled their sailsas durable as their spiritsthat delivered each man, woman and child onto the shores of a New World. These sails, of course, were made from cannabis.

Indeed, cannabis played an integral part of early American life, exploration, development, and economic activity. It was celebrated by patriots, grown by presidents, and utilized by Americans for the good of America. Unfortunately, for a plant so fundamental to the growth of our country, it would soon become the target of corporations who care more about their profit margins than the health of their nation. An information war was waged against this noble plant and it was soon victimized and made illegal by racially charged fears and ignorance.

In humility, our government would turn again to cannabis and launched its Hemp For Victory campaign during the Second World War, calling for patriotic farmers to grow cannabis in order to aid the war efforts. Years after the last soldiers were laid to rest and the last treaty was signed, the United States would once again turn its back on the plant that had helped it so dearly when Nixon ignored the advice of his own commission, which stated that cannabis should be re-legalized, and waged his war against a plant.

Though, this was not a normal war by any means. It was a war against capitalism and free-market competition. It was a war against nature in favor of proprietary goods. It was a war against information, science, and truth. It was a war against the fundamental, God-given right for an individual to manage his or her own health, body, and mind. It was a war against the very roots of our heritage, culture, and existence. In essence, it was a war against you.To this day, perpetuated myths and fear-propaganda still taint the minds of so many Americans. Thankfully, however, advances in science and logic have allowed many to see just how helpful and safe cannabis truly is to a variety of people and industries. My friends, we are at a tipping point of freedom in this nation where we have the ability and momentum to right an enormous wrong in our past by RE-legalizing a plant thatby all measuresshould be considered an asset of natural resource, if not a symbol of national treasure.

After elected, I vow to uphold my duty to protect the citizens of this great state by moving to legalize cannabis, thus ending the prohibition of reason and war on Californians. Our economy will be given a much needed boost as individuals responsibly and safely purchase taxed cannabis products on a much more free market; money that can be utilized to educate our children, expand our infrastructure, and focus on stopping real crime. Our prisons and legal system will be reserved for only those truly dangerous to the good of society, rather than filled and distracted by victims of social stigma and ignorance. Most of all, our children will be safer as legalization starves the black market of a majority of its cash flow and regulatory obstacles are put in place to truly restrict availability of cannabis products to adults.

Together, we can make a positive difference for the future of California. We can drastically reduce violence, power of organized crime, and costs related to the failed attempts at controlling human nature. We can fight for the rights of our farmers, our sick, our impoverished, and our families. We can support the progress of medicine and the hundreds of thousands of doctors in the United States who deserve the right to fully care for their patients. Best of all, we can do it all with the legalization of a single plant that has already done so much for us and was always there when we needed it. I think we owe it to cannabis, and I think we owe it to ourselves.