There are two kinds of people: people who smoke marijuana and people who do not. That seems like two very weird categories to be placed in but according to a poll run by CNN in 2016, one in every eight Americans smoke the drug regularly and 43 percent of Americans have at the least tried the substance. Donald Trump would call this fake news, even though CNN is the most reliable news source in the world.

Popular culture has a huge influence on the peak in drug use. There are hundreds if not thousands of songs that reference the drug. Rapper Wiz Khalifa cannot go a verse without somehow mentioning his drug of choice. TV shows and movies have increased the amount of references to marijuana and actually have their actors pretend to smoke the reefer.

Before I make my points, I want it on record that I am not one of those teenagers who rage out against their parents and demand the legalization of weed. But I just so happen to be for the legalization of marijuana in all 50 states.

The positives of weed outweigh the negatives. With the legalization of marijuana, there would be a boost in revenue. Colorado who has the use of recreational marijuana legalized, nearly made a billion dollars in tax revenue in 2015 and surpassed that in the first 10 months of 2016. On top of their profit, their legalization of hemp has created 18,000 full-time jobs.

In addition to boosting the economy, legalizing marijuana would decrease the violence of a drug cartel. Buying from a dispensary is much safer than buying from a guy at a park. There would be a decrease of the number of inmates which would save taxpayers money. In South Dakota, for two ounces or less of marijuana, you can be jailed for a year and pay a $2,000 fine. There are rapists and murderers who get away with bad deeds every day, but we are deciding to use our tax dollars to house those who buy and sell weed.

Many different studies have shown the medical benefits of marijuana. Marijuana offers relief to those in serious chronic pain. The drug has shown that it has the ability to kill cancer cells, reduce symptoms of PTSD and in some cases has prevented Alzheimer’s disease. While there are some medical cons to weed such as heart and lung disease, I do not see nicotine doing anything positive to their smokers.

At the end of the day, it is hard to argue that marijuana is the gateway drug it has always been labeled to be. The majority of pot smokers have not gone on to shoot up heroin or become meth addicts. There are currently 28 states that have legalized medical marijuana and eight states who allow the recreational use. There are rumors of a bill to legalize or discriminate marijuana in South Dakota to appear on the 2017 agenda.