Alcohol- Liver damage, addiction (alcoholism), stomach lining damage, high blood pressure, heart disease, general organ damage, stroke, heightened sense of confidence, severe motor skill hinderance, and many other problems that can arise from alcohol abuse such as dementia, bipolar disorder, and depression to name a few.

Tobacco- Severe lung, throat, and mouth damage, addiction, increased blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and kidney, bladder, and other organ damage.

Almost 500,000 people die annually due to tobacco in the U.S. That is about .17% of the population EVERY YEAR.

Alcohol kills almost 100,000 U.S. citizens every year due to accidents, disease, and other problems due to drinking.

Also, it should be noted that this does NOT include the lives cut short due to alcohol and tobacco abuse. Alcohol and tobacco abuse cut the natural lifespan of their users, and one should not forget that fact.

Cannabis sativa (marijuana, weed, pot) on the other hand has never solely accounted for one death in the United States, or the world for that matter.

Many think it is a ‘gateway’ drug, but this is simply not true. If one were to believe this, alcohol and tobacco would also be gateway drugs, used by all people who eventually began to use harder substances.

Cannabis itself does not lead to other, harder drugs. Due to its illegal status in most nations, one must contact drug dealers who most likely pedal both cannabis and harder drugs. This provides the environment for drug abuse to occur.

So in reality, it is the illegal nature of cannabis that provides room for smokers to access these more dangerous substances. If one were to look at Amsterdam, Netherlands for example, it is obvious that because cannabis is regulated (albeit not legalized) people are not associating with drug dealers as often as they would if it were illegal, and therefore other drug use is very limited in and around the city, and unsurprisingly, the crime rate is lower and the life expectancy is greater than much of the world.

The first step to realizing the benefits of cannabis is through the realization of its medicinal uses. The US is finally beginning to come to that conclusion with thirteen states that have legalized medicinal marijuana, and many more that have pending bills for medical legalization.

Hopefully in the near future, unbiased studies can be done in S. Korea and other nations and the marijuana madness will be lifted from Asia.

Feel free to contact me at no1butsome1@hotmail.com

Also, if anyone was wondering, yes I am a cannabis user (Who would have guessed?). I use it medicinally for my mayoclinic epilepsy, for meditative purposes (I’m atheist but love to explore Buddhist philosophy along with general philosophical thought/exploration), relaxation, and as a safe means of intoxication.

Although I am 17, I feel that cannabis should be legalized worldwide to the age of 18. Drugs use in general should not be condoned before adulthood (although this is ambiguous and different for every person) but use by minors should be at discretion to the parents [to a certain degree].

I left much uncovered, so please, if you’re interested, feel free to email me.

So disappointing..esp jjh..my sister who is a big fan of his, says all her fantasies about him just evaporated after learning about this..

Anyway, I agree the pandora’s box is open. The dark side of the lives of celebrities singers and actors all coming under the spotlight these days. Drugs, always a big part of the celebrity world. I said before this was all happening too fast over there. Like a runaway train, toot toot. Asian pop scene…welcome to the culture of “sex, drugs and rock-n-roll” (as we call it in the west.). too bad