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There are many drugs that have many serious side effects and that are harmful to people. Marijuana is no different than that. And especially we should try to discourage young people from using marijuana.

I agree with my colleagues, even the one who just preceded me, that marijuana is probably a dangerous drug, and I would not suggest that we do anything to encourage its use.

Educating young people about the harms of drugs is essential.

We need to educate Americans about the real harms of marijuana if we want to sustain the gains we've made over the past three years.

There are now more teens going into treatment for marijuana dependency than for all other drugs combined.

Marijuana is a much bigger part of the American addiction problem than most people - teens or adults - realize.

We know that if we can prevent kids from trying drugs in their teenage years, we dramatically reduce the likelihood that they will go on to have problems later in life.

By regulating marijuana, we can put black market drug dealers out of business and eliminate the rebellious allure that attracts young people.

I know why we can't have a frank discussion with our policymakers - if you're in the government or in law enforcement you cannot acknowledge that drugs are anything but inherently evil and morally wrong.

While we must ensure that these dangerous new drugs and precursors do not get in the hands of children or others who would use them improperly, we must also be aware that these same drugs have legitimate uses.