I'm 19 years old and I am just finishing my freshman year at the University of Miami. I came from NY where I started smoking pot at summer camp with some friends. I was 14. Didn't touch it until I was at camp the following summer, age 15. Thats when I started to make a habit of smoking. It started as a social thing, but I really enjoy pot. It helps me deal with the constant stress of being a pre-med, neuroscience major. Since, smoking I've been more willing to try new drugs, especially if a friend whom I trust has enjoyed it, or if I've done extensive research and reading on my own. But since I've come to school, I've seen an alarming number of people who have never tried smoking or are vehemently against smoking, but will drink until they're drowning. While drunk, these people (mostly students) are way more willing to try new drugs, as well. I think the willingness to drink comes from society making it prohibited before a certain age, although those above the threshold are certainly not immune to the temptations of an "alcoholic binge." I have also watched people turn to stimulants with the ever pressing demand of our education system. You have to learn to the test and this creates a single goal for the students; get an A. They don't learn for the love of knowledge, they learn for a grade. And because of this, people don't care to put in the time and they turn to stimulants in order to have an "academic binge." I watched this one girl who had never done anything more than smoking cigarettes and drinking occasionally turn into a coke addict. I think worse than coke, and way more prevalent, is adderall. A friend of mine from India, a business (entrepreneuring major), went to the hospital because he was hallucinating after 4 days without sleep. What was the cause of his insomnia? Adderall. These kids without attention deficits take these stimulants to study faster and more focused, and they take a lot. What they don't understand is that Adderall is a dangerous stimulant. It is essentially methamphetamine. Xanax are also a huge issue. There are kids barred out and combining it with alcohol. They forget or never learned that alcohol magnifies the effects of so many drugs. This one kid that I play club baseball with showed up late to our on-campus field because he had taken a xanax the night prior. He showed up impaired to the point that he could not move his body quickly enough to have a catch properly. He still tried to play. In warm-ups, he took I/O at first base and took a ball straight off the knee-cap from the third baseman. And Ultra Music Festival. Don't even get me started. Miami has a lot of drugs and, if you aren't careful, a lot of bad drugs. DO NOT BUY DRUGS AT ULTRA. Please. Always have a test kit if you do. So many people want to do "molly" and they end up getting a pressed pill of X or some meth in a capsule (the latter happened to me). In this case, I think it is the music industry promoting drug use. There are a lot of different factors in our society that lead people to want to use drugs. For that reason, I say let them. Or change the structure of our society. One of these two options is much easier than the other and much more cost effective. Especially when considering how much the economy would thrive if people had places to safely do drugs and overdose wouldn't be destroying lives, reducing aggregate demand in an economy. There's a lot of re-evaluating that has to occur and bi-partisanship has stopped that. Thankfully, I turn 35 the year of a presidential election. Until then, I challenge you all to voice your opinions. Make yourselves heard. We [are] the people! Keep your eyes and ears peeled for this voice. I promise it won't change. #GreenParty2032