Marijuana isn't even legal in Holland - it's a harmful substance that damages your lungs and is scientifically observed to be determental to a person's psychological well being.

i smoke the pot on occassion, but I see my family who has been smoking pot 5 times a day for the past 30 years and I can visibly see the affect it has had on their life style and their personal image. Non of them are overly ambitious and they all seem to lack a general love of life.

I think the major thing pot has deprived my family of is the will or want to do anything but smoke pot.

Another instance is that i have a good friend in Holland who was recently kicked out of his home because he had been jobless for 3 years. When I visited this friend he had been smoking marijuana atleast once an hour, his personal hygeine was extremely questionable, and he suffered from extreme social paranoia...

I can't prove or say this is related to pot but I can say that a lack in social involvement and a lack of physical excercise and a lack of excellent, diet have been a form of continuity I've observed in people who smoke marijuana on a day to day basis.

having said that I don't think the Government should legalize marijuana - Especially with the recent attacks and laws that have been made against smoking in general... legalizing marijuana for purposes aside from medicinal would only create a market and a target audience and by proxy the government would basically be promoting the use of substances that are known to have detremental affects with long term, constant use.

However I do feel that the use of marijuana, like in the Netherlands, should be decriminalized and regulated by the government. I believe that the government ignores most issues because it doesn't want to "get dirty" but I think if marijuana was regulated then cutting out the middle man would save a lot of policing resources, it would eliminate a black market, ensure standards and quality control and reduce the crime rate associated with marijuana trafficing.