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Many people question why drugs are illegal, especially the most commonly used illegal drug in the United States - marijuana.

Some people think that by making marijuana legal the economy would improve because the drug is the biggest cash crop, and the arrests for possession would decrease. But what they don't know is that it would destroy so many other aspects of people's lives in the U.S.

The most important argument against making marijuana a legal drug is that it would destroy our society. Weed is a gateway drug and people who have smoked weed or currently do smoke weed may try more serious and dangerous drugs.

"Marijuana is a gateway drug and individuals grow accustomed to the 'highs.' It would be possible that more dangerous drugs would be tried. Drug use may become a lifestyle," said AHS nurse Cindy Ennes.

The risk of getting addicted to more dangerous drugs, such as cocaine, is much higher for people who have smoked weed. According to the Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse Web site, "The risk of using cocaine is estimated to be more than 104 times greater for those who have tried marijuana than for those who have never tried it." For teenagers, it is easier to get illegal drugs than legal drugs because they are sold on the streets. If marijuana was legal, it would be harder for underaged people to get it, so they may turn to a different illegal drug.

Making marijuana legal would just open the door for a new drug epidemic. Drug dealers sell illegal drugs, so if marijuana was legal, they might sell more dangerous and addictive drugs to today's youth.

"Opening legal use of marijuana would be accepting a new drug with all the trappings of addiction in society," said Ennes.

Accepting marijuana as a legal drug would be accepting the lifestyle that goes along with it.

Many people who smoke do it because they do not want to deal with the problems and struggles in their lives.

"People who smoke daily are tired and burnt out... not addressing real problems and not learning to grow in ways that make them successful, happy adults," said Ennes.

Do we want to live in a society where people do drugs to avoid their problems in life? If marijuana was legal, it would be saying that this was an acceptable way to live. Crime that goes along with getting high would also increase if marijuana was legal. According to Addiction No More's Web site, "75 percent of drug related criminal charges are connected to marijuana."

Driving under the influence is a serious crime and can kill thousands of people a year. If marijuana was legal, it would just increase the number of deaths per year due to driving high. According to GDCADA, "reaction time for motor skills, such as driving, is reduced by 41 percent after smoking one joint and is reduced 63 percent after smoking two joints."

Other crimes like breaking and entering and robbery would increase because being high impairs people's reasoning and thought processes. "There is an increase of doing risky behavior while high," said Ennes.

If marijuana somehow was made legal and people could smoke on the streets, other people, such as children, could get a "contact high" from the second-hand smoke from marijuana. Is it fair that people who choose not to smoke have to deal with the second-hand smoke of people who get high? No, it is not. If people choose not to destroy their health from marijuana, they should not have to worry about the dangerous effects of secondhand smoke. Also, people who smoke weed have a much higher chance of bad health and cancer. "In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50-70 percent more of some cancer causing chemicals than does tobacco smoke," according to gdcada.org.

Among the 400 chemicals found in marijuana are carbon monoxide, acetaldehyde, phenol, creosol and naphthalene (www.educatingvoices.org/Marijuana.asp). One of the most harmful and problematic chemicals found in marijuana is Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is known to affect both long and short term memory.

"The THC in marijuana has the capacity to decrease sperm production and increase abnormal sperm cells. It disrupts hormone cycles in females," according to Educating Voices (www.educatingvoices.org/Marijuana.asp).