I know the legalization of Marijuana is a very common topic to discuss in today’s society. People constantly argue whether it is safe or not or if legalization is a good idea in the United States. I came across a study that was funded by the Australian Government that was really interesting. The study showed really horrifying facts about teens that use marijuana. Here are the facts that caught my attention in the study- “…teens who smoke marijuana daily are more than 60% less likely to finish high school”, “The users are also seven times more likely to attempt suicide and eight times more likely to use other illegal drugs. They may also be more affected by depression and have welfare dependency.” (CBS Philly). This study was so interesting to me because of the way the study was conducted. Researchers followed activity of 3,700 teenagers until they were 30 years old. To me this makes the results seem to be very valid because of a few reasons. First of all, it was smart that they sampled such a large group of teenagers. This makes the results more valid because it is not necessarily a small biased group, rather a larger demographic and sample size is covered. Secondly I thought it was interesting that they measured the results over a long time span. I am surprised that findings and statistics such as these were not known beforehand. This type of observational experiment however could have results that are affected by other things. For example, the lifestyles of the people who are being observed can affect the results of how depressed they are. However, if the science of this and the experiment is in fact accurate, is USA making a really bad decision? Although legalizing marijuana would eliminate black markets, would it instead create a less educated, more depressed, and drug addicted generation? It is hard to say, but I think that the United States Government should take the time to fund their own scientific research for the good of its own citizens before large negative effects come into place.