According to the NIAAA, reports of U.S. adults using marijuana have doubled since 2001-2002. If this surprises you I’d like to point you towards Dr. Carl Hart’s website, as well as two podcasts he participated in via the Joe Rogan Experience, #469 and #698. Dr. Carl Hart is a pharmacologist who has studied the effects of drugs for around 20 years, and while you might think some of his conclusions are “radical,” he’ll tell you that he’s only relaying what the evidence shows. If you have any desire to broaden your understanding on the subject, I suggest you start there. Finally, here’s a link to learn how marijuana was criminalized in the first place.

Should our government be allowed to dictate what we put into our bodies? Many are apt to answer yes. Building from there, common criteria to decide which substances to allow and which to ban is the level of "danger" they present. That is, if a substance is significantly harmful in itself when consumed, its use should be banned. If we were to re-draw the lines (or re-schedule the drugs) using the danger criterion combined with data regarding the dangers of each individual substance, marijuana would surely appear around the bottom of your list. Alcohol and cigarettes, America's main legal drugs, would top it.

The facts about marijuana seem to be out, the public should know that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol or cigarettes, they should know the near impossibility of overdose, the mental and physical health benefits of the plant, and the ridiculous profit from recreational sales. But lately, I've found that many are oblivious. Negative marijuana propaganda not only manifested the illegalization of the weed, but also created norms grounded in misunderstanding about the plant. These false beliefs have been the roots binding marijuana to its Schedule I status. Eventually, through honest communication between users and non-users, as well as the general spread of information via the internet, social/communicative interactions regarding marijuana will be representative of the truth.

As weed continues to get legalized, state by state, the social norm will change, and familiarity will create a more comfortable environment for pot smokers. Getting recreational weed will become more professional, less mysterious, and with that will come more and more users. Education will come to everyone, and eventually, those that live and let live will be far greater in number than those that spend their time creating useless and unjust rules (social rules or state laws) to limit freedom, and maximize ego.