Many people in society are trying to persuade the government to legalize the use of marijuana. Marijuana is a drug that is mind altering. It relaxes the body and slows down a person as a whole. There are more cons's than pros to legalizing marijuana. Although marijuana has been known to help some medical patients, legalizing marijuana would only burden society with many ills.
             Even though marijuana causes problems, it can be helpful in some ways. Due to marijuana slowing the body down, one's senses are lessened, therefore easing pain. People with family members who suffer see legalization for the good and bad.
             Unfortunately, marijuana does not only affect the abuser, but also his or her family. When a teen that is using a drug is confronted, the relationship between some family members falls apart. Families become poor due to the money supply going towards marijuana. Family members loose their jobs because they have been around people who have been using marijuana. Children are teased at school because their peers know about their parents' habits. One person can cause a great deal of hardship to the family with drugs. According to Lynn Zimmer, people living in public housing can be evicted if one of the people living there is charged with a drug offense (Zimmer 124). This could put an entire family out on the streets. If marijuana is legalized, there is still the risk of the abusers becoming addicted. Once addicted, one will do whatever it takes to support their habit. Children stop receiving attention from their parents and may even get abused. According to Scott Barbour, "In the last ten years, driven by substance abuse, the number of abused and neglected children has more than doubled, up from 1.4 million in 1986 to three million in 1997"(114). Many of these children end up in foster care leading to a broken home.
             Legalizing marijuana will not decrease criminal activity. Scott ...