There is a lot of talk, here and in other states, of the so-called “benefits” of legalizing marijuana. They talk about its so-called “medical properties” and how it is “less harmful” than alcohol and tobacco, while failing to realize the inherent hypocrisy of their position.

Smoking anything, weed included, increases the chances of developing lung cancer. Sure, in the state most people smoke pot now, the amount of tar is less than in commercial cigarettes, and the chemicals themselves are less addictive, but is that really going to last if it’s legalized? Smoking dried tobacco leaves is also healthier than smoking commercial cigarettes, but how many people do you see doing that rather than lighting up a Marlboro? Sure, you can extract the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and take that directly, but then you open yourself up to overdose and impurities created in the extraction process. Weed is healthier and less addictive precisely because it is not mass-produced and packaged, circumstances that won’t last a decade after its legalization.

Pot is also often compared to alcohol in terms of its intoxicating power, but we already have a huge problem with driving under the influence. How much worse will it be when THC products are legal? How much harder will it be to prove that someone is under the influence of THC while driving than alcohol? We might be able to do some Breathalyzer for inhaled smoke, but the marijuana outlets in California sell THC oils and extracts that can be taken almost any way you wish: injected, drank and even used in cooking. Do we really want the police to do a blood test on everyone they suspect of driving while stoned?

The fact is that marijuana is strongly associated with criminal activity, violence and other illegal drug use. This is simply more evidence that legalization could have negative consequences, which pot proponents tend to miss. We can’t even keep marijuana out of the hands of high schoolers now, when it is illegal. How much harder will it be to control the distribution of the drug when it is sold at every gas station?

Some claim that the tax revenue and lack of spending on police will be a boon to the government. However, they fail to take into account the increase in cost to provide the health care and drug recovery needed to counteract all of the negative effects that legal marijuana will cause. We will be lucky if we break even, and the cost in human suffering far outweighs any financial benefit.

But the worst part, the part that the potheads and activists don’t want you to know, is what happens to chronic pot users. Alcohol destroys your liver, tobacco destroys your lungs, but pot destroys your brain. In a number of studies, chronic cannabis users have shown reduced cognitive function, including long-term memory, short-term memory, attention spans, reflexes, hearing sensitivity and other categories. Our mind may be all we are. It is the seat of reason, thought and identity, and legalizing something that attacks that is legalizing a toxin that destroys our very selves. We need to be building a smarter, savvier nation, not a nation filled with potheads.

Marijuana is dangerous, addictive and potentially destructive to our very future. Don’t smoke it; don’t legalize it.