Legalizing Marijuana

I was really hoping someone would give me a reason to cover my thoughts on legalizing marijuana, and thanks to Barney Frank, I finally get my chance. Earlier this week, Frank came out and said that the Federal government should not interfere in people's liesure activities and that the Federal government should decriminalize marijuana possessions up too 100 grams (or a quarter pound) where no evidence is found of attempted distribution and no profit was made from the sale of it's drug. As a proponent for the legalization of marijuana, it's nice to see someone make an issue of this again-I just wish it weren't Barney Frank. Frank's recent track record is, putting it politely, not very good, and as such of all the people in the U.S. Federal Government that we need on the side of legalizing pot, he would be near the bottom of my list. Regardless, I am happy that someone has decided to make an issue of this again during an election year. The laws concerning Marijuana usage in America are rediculus. There is no basis for its criminalization and many states and large cities within America have either decriminalized its use or legalized medicinal usage of it. Anyone possessing an ounce of logic in their heads can look at Marijuana-an illegal drug-and alcohol-a legal drug-and sees that there is no comparing the 2. Pot causes nearly no crime beyond that of usage, growth and distribution. You don't see people get high all over the place and then going home and beating their wives and children, spending themselves into debt, ruining their careers or slamming into innocent drivers because they are too high to drive. The medicinal properties of Marijuana are widely touted by many doctors and medical associations and, despite valiant efforts by pharmeceutical companies, no artificial substitute has yet been created which duplicates the medicinal properties of pot. On the economic side, the criminalization of pot costs local, state and federal agencies 10's of billions of dollars a year to police, and hundred's of thousand's of people every year are arrested for simple possession, costing them and the court system hundred's of millions of dollars and risking the livelihoods of these people all for simply have a little pot on themselves. I'll save my longer winded diatribe for another day, for now, I digress...Congress-just legalize the stuff already will you?