A Proposal to Marijuana Legalization
             Shots fired from left and right whiz by your head as you walk anxiously through the ghettos towards your downtown apartment steps. You find yourself caught in crossfire between two raging drug dealers. As you make an attempt to run for cover, a bullet strikes you directly in the middle of your back, and for what, a few ounces of weed? Thousands of people die each year because of senseless gang violence. Because marijuana and other drugs are illegal, addicts are forced to resort to crime to support their habits. Prohibiting drugs means that someone will have a monopoly on drug sales. So gangs who finance their activities with drug sales battle each other to determine who that someone will be. Innocent people get shot in crossfire and in drive-by shootings. It's the Prohibition era all over again, and the winner says, "Thank you, government, for making all this possible." This is the reality of the matter. The Drug War has not worked and it will never work. An alternative plan must be adopted. I propose that we legalize marijuana in order to stop this senseless violence. The U.S. Government will tax this herb and distribute it the same way cigarettes and alcohol are distributed.
             My alternative plan incorporates three simple elements. Just as cigarettes and alcohol are not available to minors, neither would marijuana. It would not be available in vending machines like cigarettes are in some locations, which will prevent just anyone from buying marijuana. Buyers must show identification for the purchase of marijuana, and adults will be prosecuted if they are caught providing the herb to minors. Secondly, users would be able to obtain marijuana at low prices. This will, without doubt, put marijuana drug dealers out of business, ending some of the crime resulting from illegal drug dealing. You don't see anyone selling tobacco on the black market do you? Tobacc...