Medical Marijuana is Part of the Problem

I live in San Francisco, a hot bed for the legislature surrounding medical marijuana. We have seen huge developments in the past ten years. In my fair city we have "medical" pot clubs all over town. There are people in the world that, one could argue, have a legitimate need for medical marijuana. I would bet that 1 in 200 users with medical marijuana cards actually "need" it. If you watch the news or take a look in one of these dispensaries, you'll quickly notice that it's mostly a sham. Many are run by thugs and a fair amount of their customers resell pot on the street often right outside the dispensary. I believe marijuana should be legal for a number of reasons. One, the fact that people go to prison for possession is disgusting. In some states you can do more time for having an ounce of pot than for robbing a Quickie Mart. This is partly why our prisons are overcrowded. Second, Pot is far less harmful than alcohol or cigarettes and it seems hypocritical that the laws allow the use of two products that are leading causes of death globally but not marijuana. Lastly, legalizing the RECREATIONAL use of marijuana will result in less street crimes. Medical marijuana damages the credibility of it's own cause by making a mockery of it's users. On the news this morning I saw an interview with a woman who was about 19 years old, smoking a huge joint in a dispensary claiming "I, umm, like have... back pains." Please! This offends me, it's an embarrassment and it will never gain the respect required to change things in a positive way. Yes, marijuana can be used medically but it's a joke to say that that's why people smoke it.