Drugs.

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/is-alcohol-worse-than-ecstasy/

After watching a documentary that has listed ecstasy as less dangerous than cigarettes or alcohol, I am more than ever motivated to address the drug issues within the U.S. While the research presented in this documentary was conducted in the U.K. and the list is directly based on U.K. numbers, I do believe there are parallel issues to the problems that the U.S. faces.

I also believe that the way our government is trying to provide solutions to the problems is inefficient at best. We use scare tactics and promote campaigns that exaggerate the effects of recreational drug use. We pass bills that further criminalize the possession and selling of recreational drugs, which punish the people that suffer from usage and not the people that profit from others' addictions.

If America truly cared about the health and well-being of its citizens, we would focus on education, treatment, and decriminalization. We wouldn't concern ourselves with ensuring that our prisons are filled to maximum capacity.

But alas, our motives are based on less than good intentions and we'd rather have fat pockets than a happy community. We encourage violence by continuing to deem drugs illegal. We keep crooked cops on top. We spend top dollar on trying to fix ailments which cannot be fixed unwillingly. We turn our heads the other way if nothing else works. We are inefficient at best.

One of the most intelligent phrases to come from the documentary was:

"Rather than forbid, we need to educate."

I couldn't agree more.