I think it’s safe to say that getting ahold of marijuana in Tempe is pretty easy.

Just hop on down to Mill Avenue and you’ll find more drug dealers than pizza places.

With a drug that is so openly available to the public’s hands, maybe it really is a good idea for the government to create a few new laws regarding the legalization and regulation of it. But what other reasons would they have to change our current legislation?

Throughout my entire 19 years of life, I’ve heard many arguments from people supporting legalizing marijuana. The most common reason I hear is that marijuana is natural; it’s from the Earth. Denying it is denying God, somehow. I mean, opium also grows in the ground. And tobacco. And cocaine. Not all that grows is good.

If people are truly serious about changing legislation, they need to pick a reason that will stick in court. Congress needs to hear how the new law will make our society better.

If all they wanted was to reduce the number of illegal drug dealers in the country, they’d just make every drug legal.

Now, medical marijuana is another great debate amongst the community.

It’s completely different from legalizing marijuana for recreational use. But so far, the system doesn’t work at all.

Medical marijuana is a joke in California. All you need to do is go to your conveniently located, pot-friendly doctor, tell him how much your knee hurts for a few minutes, and he’ll happily collect $200 for your well-earned prescription.

We need to set concrete standards that only allow patients with specific conditions to gain access to marijuana. Chemotherapy patients, yes.

Glaucoma patients, yes. Broken-nail patients, no. Cranky girls… maybe.

Just kidding.

We need to be able to set up a certain limit for how much THC — the active ingredient in marijuana — you can have in your system at once.

Sure, we have blood and hair tests to figure this stuff out, but what’s a police officer going to say to a person whom he suspects to be driving under the influence of it? “Sir, I’m going to need to see your registration, DNA, and you’ll also have to sit here for about three days until I get the test results.” I don’t think that will work.

Until we invent the equivalence of a Breathalyzer for marijuana, I really don’t agree with legalizing it because legalizing it would be a no-limit act. We don’t even have that for alcohol. However, lessening the penalties for “personal use” amounts is something I will agree to.

Marijuana is by no means as bad as drugs like heroin. But I have no doubt more people will try smoking weed if it’s legal. They definitely will. And we really don’t need anything to make our youth lazier than it already is.

Reach Brian at brian.p.anderson@asu.edu.