I am writing this in hopes of enlightening people of the benefits and also the some of the myths of drug use. The general population is overwhelmingly against the use of drugs, but upon probing I realized that no one really knows anything about what they fight so passionately against. This is a common flaw in humans. We tend to side with what seems "right" and don't question authority.

A good place to start is with marijuana. This has to be one of the most misunderstood drugs in the United States. When I ask people why they're against the use of marijuana, the majority of the time I get no definitive answer. Everyone's against it, but no one really knows why they're against it. After some research, I can tell you why they are against its use. William Randolph Hearst ran a campaign against the drug in the 1930s. He did so in order to protect his interests in the timber industry (due to hemp being poised to replace paper). This was a problem for him because he owned a lot of newspaper printing facilities. His campaign included taking our country's racism against blacks at the time and creating a type of associative hysteria. He claimed that marijuana "caused violence, attacks, delirium, [and] death and was used by poor black youth."

There is much more on this story so please read up on it for more details. What amazes me is the premise for the illegalization of marijuana is based off of stock interest of people in power, racism and absolutely no research on the drug. Again, these types of things are common, even today.

What we know about marijuana today is a much different story. Marijuana has an untold amount of medical benefits including, but not limited to helping with insomnia, helping appetite, and as an anti-anxiety medication.

Interestingly enough, marijuana might protect the brain from a more dangerous drug. One that is the most widely available and the most widely used in the United States: alcohol. A recent study at the University of California, San Diego (my school) was conducted which showed that marijuana might help in protecting the brain from damage related to alcohol abuse. Students who were binge drinkers were imaged and there was (on average) severe damage to seven different areas of their brains. However, in those students who were binge drinks AND also smoked marijuana, there was only damage to three of those seven areas. While they don't know exactly how or why this was it does seem to be an interesting discovery.

On the topic of alcohol, no other drug is worse for you. Alcohol has the most severe short term and long term side effects and health implications. It is also the second most addictive drug (nicotine being the first). Of all substance abuse disorders alcoholism has one of the worst prognoses.

But those who occasionally drink alcohol are seen as normal while one who occasionally smokes marijuana (which is one of the LEAST addictive drugs) is seen as a bad person or a drug addict. This lapse in logic and unwillingness of the general public to do research on a topic before backing it is the single biggest problem to our freedom to use drugs as we please.

These ideas transfer to all types of drugs. Did you know that cocaine is EXACTLY as addictive as caffeine?! Did you know that nicotine shows a positive correlation for delaying the onset of Alzheimer's?! Did you know alcohol given in mass directly after head trauma greatly reduces the chances of permanent brain damage?! Did you even know that alcohol doesn't actually directly kill brain cells?

My point in all of this is that people tend to never question that which they fight so passionately for. The majority of the time people know not one things of which they speak.

Even highly educated people do this: no one is immune. I sat in on a lecture at UCSD on illicit hallucinogenic drugs. The professor went on to state what bad trips are like. He described in graphic detail what a bad trip was like, but never once mentioned how rare a bad trip is and also the fact that it depends mostly on attitude BEFORE the drug is taken. All he did was scare these students out of even trying or experiencing for themselves the wonders of hallucinogens. Now, if they do try them, they will think about the lecture's stated implication and very likely have a bad trip based off of those thoughts.

In summary, most of what people believe about drugs is false. Most drugs have many more benefits than deficits, but as a people we choose to ignore these. We follow what is told to us without question and this leads to us losing a right. It is not fair to those who have done their research and want to experiment. Due to the deficits of others we lose a right.

Additionally, I know that a lot of these drugs have negative side effects, both short term and long term. However, so do many medications you choose to take or that are given to you by medical professionals. Some are actually much worse than you think. Most illicit drugs are vastly beneficial both psychological and physiologically as long as they are taken in moderation.

I ask that one take away from this the idea of questioning all you hear and believe nothing until you see it for yourself. There is so much more you can learn if you open your mind to everything, not just what you want to hear. Remember, no one is impervious to idiocy, but logic is a good first step.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. I have many more points and arguments on this topic, but I just realized how long this was!