A great column appeared this week in the News-Press, a popular newspaper in southwest Florida.  An excerpt is below, or you can read the entire piece by clicking HERE:

Alcohol is the most popular recreational drug in the world and the most dangerous with 100,000 people dying annually in America from the direct health effects of drinking.

Alcohol use is also associated with half of all violent crime including vehicular homicide.

Marijuana is the second most popular recreational drug on our planet and the safest. No one has ever died from the effects of smoking weed. No statistics are available for marijuana-related violence because it almost never occurs.

Almost 1 million United States citizens are arrested every year for smoking cannabis and many Americans are serving life sentences for growing this popular weed. The only real risk associated with smoking pot is getting arrested.