Decriminalization Of Marijuana :: legalization of hash

This nation's so-called war on drugs has been a miserable failure. It hasn't' worked. The drug problem is getting worse. I think it is the number one problem facing this country today. I think that we as people and our politicians really need to put all of our options into perspective, and one of the things we need to talk about is decriminilization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Common sense or logic would dictate that when you take this issue on, when you talk about legalization or decriminalization, if you are going to talk about that, you are going to have to talk about taking it in steps, and certainly the first step would be marijuana. All of us can make a list out of friends that have used drugs. Are our friends criminals for using drugs? Yes, they are today given the laws that we have. Should they be criminals? Are they criminals? For the most part, no they are not. We are talking about federal law, and I see this as a national issue which is an extremely tough issue with politicians. There isn't a bigger taboo topic because if you're going to talk about legalization, you're talking about making it readily available for kids, but I read in a poll that 95 percent of kids in high school say illegal drugs are readily available. I know this is a fact because I once was a high school student and had the unfortunate experience to see this all around me. I don't know how it gets more readily available than that. I'm not advocating breaking the law, but personally, I don't think you should go to jail for smoking marijuana. I think 75 percent of the people in this country would say, no, you shouldn't go to jail for smoking marijuana.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  700,000 Americans are in jail or prison on drug related charges. That is something I have a problem with and think we as people and a democratic country is something we need to deal with. I am very confused about this issue and I am deeply concerned and feel this is something that needs to be dealt with and handled properly according to the facts. I am talking about legalization and decriminalization, but I'm definitely not condoning drug use. From what I know and what I see as an American citizen on a day to day basis it seems like there is no political support and no one is trying to do anything about it. We're spending more and we're locking more people up for drug use in today's society which is a definite cause of the overcrowded prisons in our country.