This November, California residents have a serious decision to make: a prior drug that could put you in jail will be up for legalization. Prop. 64 will decide whether marijuana will be legalized in the state of California. A few other states such as Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska have already legalized marijuana and have shown great progress in doing so.

Taxes on this substance bring in a large revenue. For instance in 2015, Colorado brought in $113 million in retail marijuana tax revenue. California is prone to legalize marijuana considering the Democratic population in our state. A solid amount of left-leaning voters are for the legalization of marijuana which will sway the vote drastically.

Even The New York Times has supported lifting the prohibition on marijuana. “It has been more than 40 years since Congress passed the current ban on marijuana, inflicting great harm on society just to prohibit a substance far less dangerous than alcohol.”

There is immense backing behind the legalization of marijuana. It is far less dangerous than tobacco and alcohol. The CDC has said, “Excessive alcohol use led to approximately 88,000 deaths and 2.5 million years of potential life lost…” Also more than 400,000 deaths are attributed to tobacco smoking. Clearly marijuana is far less harmful. So why don’t we legalize it?

Well most think marijuana will not affect you, but that is wrong. In a recent study chronic marijuana abuse can cause the brain to change in a harmful way way, “A recent Northwestern University study found that marijuana users have abnormal brain structure and poor memory and that chronic marijuana abuse may lead to brain changes resembling schizophrenia.” Even though this may be true, the side effects from alcohol and tobacco are far worse. Smoking tobacco has been linked to lung disease such as COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. This is especially unsettling considering alcohol and tobacco have been legal for decades.

I believe we need to legalize marijuana with the hope that it will bring a solution to people who have an addiction to alcohol or tobacco. Even though they’ll be taking in a substance, it will be much healthier and less harmful for their system. Former president Richard M. Nixon even said, “Federal and state laws (should) be changed to no longer make it a crime to possess marijuana for private use.” Why should we legalize something that is killing thousands of people a year when we could lift the prohibition on a substance that is much safer?

Marijuana has multiple medical properties that could significantly enhance treatment methods. Marijuana has been used to treat Glaucoma, an eye disease that causes an increase in pressure in the eye. It has specifically been found to decrease pressure in the eyeball which in some cases can save someone from losing their vision.

Marijuana is also known to have a chemical that stops cancer from spreading. The cannabinoids in marijuana are what slows the spread of cancer. How is a drug that can stop cancer from spreading illegal? That doesn’t seem reasonable to me. Endless amounts of medical properties are in marijuana.

The evidence against marijuana doesn’t nearly compare to the pros of legalizing marijuana. I believe if we lift the prohibition on marijuana our state will only profit from it. When you go to vote on the ballot this November, please take into account what you have read here and make the right decision.