The marijuana controversy doesn't mean a change for law enforcement's duties

Marijuana is an extremely controversial subject just about anywhere in the United States. Medical marijuana is now legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia.

Of those states, Washington and Colorado have legalized marijuana for recreational use.

Depending on who you talk to or where you look, you can find just about whatever answer you want.

There are doctors who say marijuana is bad for you, while some say it is good for you, and there are thousands of studies that support both views.

The use of marijuana for medical purposes is one of the most common arguments for marijuana, and the idea of marijuana being a "gateway" drug is one of the most common arguments against it.

Some people say smoking marijuana is not any worse than drinking or smoking so it should not be illegal.

Some of the benefits of medical marijuana (also known as medical cannabis) are for pain in general, helping with nausea from cancer chemotherapy, poor appetite and weight loss caused by chronic illness such as HIV, nerve pain, seizure disorders and Crohn's Disease.

Some of the arguments against marijuana are that people who regularly take marijuana are more likely to try other drugs as well.

There are some long-term studies of high school students and their patterns of drug use that show very few young people use other illegal drugs without first trying marijuana.

Some studies also show that the risk of using cocaine is 104 times greater for those who have tried marijuana than for those who have never tried it.

Another argument is that children who buy marijuana are put in contact with people who sell other drugs, although there could be an argument that this is caused from marijuana being illegal in the first place.

There are people all over the country who are taking marijuana for medical reasons, and yet there are people all over the country who are incarcerated for having and selling marijuana.

So what should law enforcement's role be when it comes to this controversial drug?

There are several things that come in to play when we deal with people who sell marijuana.

The first is that most people we investigate for selling this drug also sell other illegal drugs.

If the argument is made that it would not be a problem if marijuana was made legal, that does not change the fact that while it is illegal, we still have the problem with how it is sold.

For law enforcement, the problem is not whether marijuana is good or bad, it is that marijuana is illegal and many of the dealers we confront sell other drugs and carry guns to protect their drug trade.

We also find that most of the time dealers sell to children on the streets and in the schools (which would still be illegal even if marijuana was legalized).

The simple fact is whether or not you are for or against legalizing marijuana, it is illegal right now and the way it is being sold and to whom it is being sold is a problem.

The Sheriff's Office will not tolerate anyone selling marijuana as long as it is illegal here in Missouri.