It seems obvious, but if pot was legal, it would be easier to get and much cheaper. These are two of the biggest reasons smoking pot causes problems for people – by being a drain on their money and sometimes exposing them to toxic chemicals. Many adolescent kids are drawn to marijuana use because it is something they are not supposed to do. It's the fact that it's against the rules that makes it so interesting.
	If all this is accurate, then what real reason can there be to keep cannabis illegal? There is none to be found, and plenty of reasons why the prohibition should be repealed. Right now Ron Paul and Barney Frank are trying to pass a bill that would allow anyone to possess up to 30 grams for personal use. There's no way this bill will be passed, but at least there are some brave people willing to try. We've done enough damage to ourselves as a nation already, it's time to turn things around. The same way smoking cannabis won't solve all the problems in a man's life, repealing prohibition will not solve all the problems in the world, but it will make the place that much better. Expect the day that cannabis is legalized to be a monumental day in history, and hope that it doesn't come too late. 

	Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was born in Indianapolis in 1922, volunteered for military service in 1943, and survived the bombing of Dresden, Germany during World War II. He was an American prisoner in the city, and one of the few people who survived its total destruction. After the war, he wrote satire prolifically, often emphasizing the terrible things people do to each other. Vonnegut has been criticized for his use of “obscene” words, and in his article on obscenity he articulates his views on the value of obscenity. His thesis is best summarized when he writes, “I suspected that warnings about words that nice people never used were in fact lessons in how to keep our mouths shut not just about our bodies but about many, many things – perhaps too many things.” Here he implies that not only should we perhaps be able to speak openly about our bodies, but also about other things which we have trouble speaking about, such as oppression. He also implies a connection between these two ideas.
	Vonnegut begins his essay with a story about a woman he once knew. Her name was Riah Fagan Cox and she was his first mother-in-law. Her story is that of a woman who built herself up from nothing, and with the money she made, helped her brother and her children. Vonnegut immediately sets up an emotional connection with the reader by bringing one into the life of this inspiring woman. 