Almost no other topic is as hotly debated as cannabis legalization here in the U.S., especially among the college demographic. Everybody has an opinion and wants to vocalize it, and I am sure we have heard more than enough about it.
I feel as if I should throw my two cents in though because proponents of legalization have an obligation to continue bringing it up until it occurs.
As a massive supporter of cannabis, the fact it remains federally illegal almost two decades into the 21st century is nothing short of laughable and shameful. 
Cannabis is classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration as a schedule I drug. The DEA classifies schedule I drugs as “drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” This means cannabis shares a classification with heroin, one of the most highly addictive and life-ruining drugs in existence.
By comparison, meth is a schedule II drug, which means it is seen as less dangerous than cannabis, and Xanax is a schedule IV drug, which is the second least threatening classification according to the DEA.
To summarize, the DEA, and by extension the U.S. government, see cannabis as a “drug” posing a threat not eclipsed by any drug currently known to man. Allow me to tear this argument to shreds for you.
Cannabis has an absolute myriad of medical benefits associated with its use.
This is backed up by studies done by various institutions, but let us allow Harvard Medical School professor, Peter Grinspoon, to explain:
“While marijuana isn’t strong enough for severe pain (for example, post-surgical pain or a broken bone), it is quite effective for the chronic pain that plagues millions of Americans, especially as they age. Part of its allure is that it is clearly safer than opiates (it is impossible to overdose on and far less addictive) and it can take the place of NSAIDs such as Advil or Aleve, if people can’t take them due to problems with their kidneys or ulcers or GERD…Marijuana is also used to manage nausea and weight loss, and can be used to treat glaucoma. A highly promising area of research is its use for PTSD in veterans who are returning from combat zones.”
There are more benefits, but I feel as if those are enough to make the point. We should not have to prove a plant has medical uses for it to be legalized (see tobacco), but the idea cannabis has none is just flat out wrong.
If you do not want to believe me or the conclusive scientific evidence, just ask the people in Colorado, Washington or Maine about the joy of no longer being chained to the kings of addiction: opioids. For those who wish to focus on the “high potential for abuse” part, please point to the THC overdose victims or evidence of cannabis being physically addicting.
Now we have established cannabis is not only harmless but actually quite helpful, principals need to be taken into account. I understand some people have religious or personal reasons to be against their own consumption of cannabis. I completely respect this. However, we happen to live in a country where religious beliefs and personal moral codes do not dictate our laws. We are not a theocracy, and we are not a dictatorship.
Opponents of cannabis are absolutely entitled to their opinion, but in order to make the claim people should be jailed or punished in any way for smoking pot, evidence needs to be found which conclusively proves it poses a threat to society at large.
Just like people, drugs are innocent until proven guilty, and cannabis has received the mistrial of a lifetime. I know people who have spent time behind bars because of a blunt, and this not only disturbs me, it makes me furious. I could regale you all day with how much I despise big pharma or the war on drugs, but it makes no difference. No matter who or what is responsible for this ridiculous decision, it makes no logical sense.
I will simply close with a quote from former President Jimmy Carter, “Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marijuana in private for personal use.” But this idea would make too much sense for America.