Oh Great

A scientist came up with a synthetic version of the active ingredient in marijuana, and now the government is reacting to people using it to get high.  More laws are sure to be on their way, with  a corresponding increase in enforcement budgets.

Here's an idea:

How about we stop worrying about people using a freaking naturally occurring herb to get intoxicated and use the money and manpower to do something constructive?

I didn't start out believing in marijuana legalization, and I'm not quite sure how I got here. Maybe it's because of all the time and money that's spent fighting this drug, and not seeing any results. Maybe it's the proven therapeutic qualities of it as a pharmaceutical. Maybe it's just because I'm tired of the government putting its nose into every aspect of our lives, usually without any good reason. 

I'm not calling for legalization of other drugs like cocaine and heroine.  But I have decided that enough is enough.

We should legalize cannabis, and then regulate and tax it like we do with tobacco and alcohol.  Yes, it's not good for you unless you need it for a medical reason.  But it's not the government's place to stop me from doing something unhealthy unless it can hurt someone else.  And let's stop worrying about people using a substance that hasn't been banned.  We have too many banned substances as it is, we don't need to add more.