With states like Washington and Colorado legalizing marijuana for recreational use, it is likely only a matter of time before it becomes legal across the entire United States. For years, many people have advocated marijuana should be legal, but honestly why shouldn’t every drug be legal?

If you are an adult, why should the government be able to tell you that you can’t buy heroin or any drug like it at your local drug store? Because drugs are bad for you? If that is the case then why is the government banning tobacco, alcohol and fast food as well, they can all cause long-term damage to your body, just like drugs do. Because some of them impair your abilities while using them? Alcohol does the same thing. If you were to just do them in the privacy of your own home, how could that possibly harm anyone else (so long as you don’t operate a vehicle or any other kind of machinery)?

There really doesn’t seem to be any reason why drugs should be illegal while things like tobacco, alcohol and fast food are legal. I realize many people would like them to stay illegal because they don’t like the idea of people using the drugs, but honestly, making them illegal isn’t stopping anyone from buying them. And, in a way, it makes it easier for kids to buy them. I don’t think that many kids have ever had trouble finding someone to sell them drugs. At least if they were legal, a minimum age for purchasing them could be set and store clerks that could enforce it, because I don’t think many dealers refuse to sell to minors.

So if the only real argument for keeping drugs illegal is for health reasons, shouldn’t we just make it legal and let the people decide if they want to use them or not? It’s not as if legalizing them will make them a requirement, so those of us not using them can continue to not use them. If you are an adult and want to replace your morning cup of coffee with a line of cocaine, or your evening glass of wine with shooting up heroin, why shouldn’t you be able to do so?

Many people love to get mad at the government and claim they are infringing upon our rights and freedom as Americans when they try to do things in the name of public health, like get people to exercise and eat healthier. Why do we not see these people also protesting the government when they are arresting people for possession of drugs. Why do we have the freedom to eat ourselves to death but not to shoot up or do a line. I personally would choose to avoid both of these, however I don’t believe that the government should tell the people of this country not to do either. If you’re an adult, I think you should have the right to do things like this. After all, we are Americans. We have the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, so who is to say that Americans can’t find that happiness in the form of narcotics?