Hello, my name is Juan Guzman and I’m from El Paso, TX. In regards to marijuana I have a deep distaste for it. This feeling wasn’t created out of nowhere, it stemmed from experiences from many years ago. It all starts with three brothers.
My eldest brother is currently 25 and I looked up to him for some time when I was younger. About 4 years ago in an argument with my mother, which was about my other brother, my mother told him that he had smoke weed when he was 13 and my brother objected with, “but I stopped.” this obviously affected me as I had looked up to my brother as a straight-arrow sort of guy. I mean this was a guy whose idea of a party was having his soccer friends over and eating donuts and drinking soda.
Now my other brother is a different case, he has smoke Mary Jane for the past 8 years. My mother caught my brother smoking weed at the age of 15 and I was their to witness the horrifying results. At first my brother promised to quit and for a while my mother believed him. Less than a year later my mother decided to have him do a drug test and it came up positive. Despite many pleas from my mom he didn’t want to stop. So he kept doing whatever he wanted, just being a malandro.
The youngest of the third by an age difference of 5 years noticed how his older brothers had both fallen to the wacky tobacky. He saw how one managed to pick himself up and the other couldn’t even get on his knees. It was then that he decided to try and stay away from the green stuff. So far he has stayed true to his word and most likely due to his picky nature and the hatred of the foul smell of marijuana.
One substance, three brothers and three paths. The oldest is currently living in Odessa, TX happily with his wife and child and has been drug free for years. The middle one is currently a smoker and has been charged with possession various times. He will get out of jail in three days time for violating probation which was being in possession and probably go back to what he was doing. The youngest one just started college and is hoping to keep away from the left handed cigarette.
Now that my personal connection is out of the way the real elephant in the room is the legalization of marijuana. When it comes to marijuana despite me not being a fan of it have no problem with its legalization. Many argue the health risks of pot (http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana) while others argue the benefits. To me that is not really important since I don’t do marijuana.
The previous encounters of the people around me and pot have cause me to dislike it, however, that shouldn’t mean that having weed should not be legal. I don’t like cigarettes but I would not make an outcry over its legal status. I think people should be able to make their own choices and if they want to smoke marijuana then they smoke marijuana. The only reciprocation should be same as with other stuff, when you start taking it out on people that’s when we have a problem.
I feel that we don’t know everything about marijuana and putting aside my feelings can’t really say if it’s good or bad. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute for Drug abuse, even notes , “Whether smoking or otherwise consuming marijuana has therapeutic benefits that outweigh its health risks is still an open question that science has not resolved.” She is just pointing out the fact that there is not definite answer on whether it is good or bad.
I agree, people should have the right to choose what they do in life. Like you, I don’t smoke marijuana and legalizing does not directly effect me. Smoking marijuana is a choice but that does not mean it should be legalized. I think it was nice of you to share why you are personally against marijuana. It was interesting reading about you and your brothers.