Pro

The Drug Free America Foundation stated in its 2004 article on its website "Medical Excuse Marijuana":

“Children are most at risk from legalization and the accompanying availability of recreational drugs.

If drugs become more available, acceptable and cheap, they will draw in greater numbers of vulnerable youth. And because of marketing tactics of drug promoters and the major decline in drug use in the 1990s (due in great part to antidrug, education and awareness campaigns), there is a growing perception among young people today that drugs are harmless. A decade ago, for example, 79 percent of 12th graders thought regular marijuana use was harmful; only 58 percent do so today.

Because peer pressure is such a factor in inducing kids to experiment with drugs, the way kids perceive the risks of drug use is critical. Legalizing smoked marijuana, giving it the government’s stamp of approval, sends the message to kids that drug use is not only harmless, but normal. This is precisely the opposite message we should be conveying.”

2004