Five Reasons Marijuana Should be Legal – Ryan O’Bryan’s List

#1 - Regulated Marijuana = Better Quality Marijuana

Say what you will about the government needing to have their hands in everything, but I truly believe that if marijuana fell under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration or some other government body, not only will it open up a new revenue stream for the economy, it will result in better quality bud.

Think about the quality of our beef, pork, and chicken. If the USDA wasn't around to regulate it, stores could sell moldy meat without any repercussions. There would be no expiration dates. You'd buy meat, take it home, and keep your fingers crossed that you didn't die of salmonella just because you had a hankerin' for fried chicken. Of course the very thought of that happening seems ridiculous because we're accustomed to the fact that the USDA is in place to protect us from such things. See what I'm getting at here?

If weed were regulated and held to strict guidelines like other foods, I think it would spell the end of, or at least greatly decrease, joints that have been laced with other drugs or tampered with in some way, shape, or form that could lead to illness...or something worse. Again (for the third time now I think), having no direct experience with marijuana I don't know if that kind of thing happens regularly, but I've heard stories.

Government regulation of weed would also mean they could dictate who can use it and who can't. I say they control it just like alcohol. You would have to be 21 or older to purchase it and use it, and the penalty for driving or operating heavy machinery under its influence would be the same. They could even require warning labels on the packages explaining that use of the product will impair one's ability to perform the aforementioned activities, or, you know, get out of a recliner.

Of course, there's more than one side to every story. For as many advocates out there in favor of legalizing marijuana, there's an equal amount on the other side looking to keep it illegal.

Click here for the other side of the story