With legalizing marijuana becoming the movement of today, the New York Times wrote an in-depth review of what happens when people do drugs, attached below. What becomes apparent to me, my first thought, is how can legislators complain about these people if they are allowing the legalization of hallucinogenic drugs, (report from the National Institute of Health) into our society. The double edged sword of wanting to legalize drugs but then complaining about the what that legislation will lead to is nothing short of ironic. These people, that no doubt a majority started with marijuana, graduated to opioids. Very rarely do people start with hard drugs, the usual pattern, whether you want to admit it or not, starts with cannabis. My thoughts are if you don’t want your child to end up lying on the street with the possibility of overdosing on drugs, then applying stricter laws on mind altering drug should the more common sense approach. Revenue should not serve as a guide to decision making because in the end it will cost more than you will earn from these products to clean up the mess. If marijuana had a possibility of only having positive side effects, like alcohol, then I would be all for it. Alcohol, wine in particular, if taken in moderation and responsibly, will actually prolong your life, make you healthier. Marijuana has negative side effects from the the first puff as it damages lungs right away, albeit minimally, in prolonged use, even in moderation, it will shorten your life.