The United States is a nation overflowing with junkies and drug dealers.  If you doubt this is true, how else can you explain new statistics that show that there is one drug bust in the U.S. every 18 seconds.  That means that there are an average of three drug busts every single minute of every single day in America.

Has the war on drugs failed?     

The F.B.I. has released the Uniform Crime Report for 2008, and it does not paint a pretty picture.  According to the report, there were 1,702,537 drug arrests in 2008, and 82.3 percent of those arrests were for possession of a contraband substance.

What does it say about a nation when there are 1.7 MILLION drug arrests in that country per year?

44 percent of the arrests were for possession of marijuana.  This is prompting many pot advocates to once again call for marijuana legalization.  For example, NORML director Allen St. Pierre released a media advisory in which he made this statement: "Present enforcement policies are costing American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, ruining the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans, and having no impact on marijuana availability or marijuana use in this country. It is time to end this failed policy and replace prohibition with a policy of marijuana regulation, taxation, and education."

But the reality, as we have previously covered, is that marijuana is a highly addictive, very dangerous substance.  If it was legalized it is very likely that crime and traffic accidents would increase significantly.

But illegal drugs are only part of the story when it comes to America's love affair with drugs.  The truth is that millions of Americans are completely addicted on legal prescription drugs, and thousands of doctors push them on their patients knowing full well that they are highly addictive and dangerous.

However, as we have previously written, there is hope for prescription drug addicts just as there is for illegal drug addicts.  There are some prescription drugs addictions that are incredibly difficult to beat, but the truth is that any addiction can be beat if you are willing to fight.

But what causes addiction in the first place?  The reality is that for most people they are trying to feel better or trying to escape or trying to fill a gaping hole in their lives.  Life is hard, and if you don't have a relationship with God, then there will always be that temptation to turn to something when things don't go well.

We invite you to learn the true secret to lasting joy and peace.  There is nothing quite like knowing that your life has real meaning.  Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins so that you can have a relationship with the God of the universe that will last forever.  To learn more, we invite you to check this out.....

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1049/1049_01.asp

Is it time for marijuana legalization? After all, dozens upon dozens of the most famous movie stars, sports heroes and prominent politicians admit that they have smoked pot. If so many of America's celebrities are using it, and if it has some important medical uses, then hasn't it come time to legalize it?

Just consider the following list of celebrities that allegedly currently use marijuana or have used marijuana in the past...

Bill Maher

Jennifer Aniston

Jack Black

Michael Bloomberg

Tom Brokaw

George W. Bush

Bill Clinton

Jack Nicholson

Conan O'Brian

Bob Dylan

Carrie Fisher

Keanu Reeves

Newt Gingrich

Al Gore

Cameron Diaz

Drew Barrymore

Justin Timberlake

Paris Hilton

Mariah Carey

Charlize Theron

Dave Chapelle

Barbra Streisand

The following list is even more eye opening. This list is of celebrities that have been arrested for marijuana... 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Chuck Berry

Bo Bice

Notorious B.I.G.

David Bowie

Bobby Brown

James Brown

Marcus Camby

Jennifer Capriati

Ray Charles

Coolio

David Crosby

Macaulay Culkin

Bob Denver

Neil Diamond

Andy Dick

DMX

Snoop Dogg

Faith Evans

David Faustino

Mark Foley

Jerry Garcia

Boy George

Al Gore III

Woody Harrelson

George Harrison

Don Henley

Dennis Hopper

Whitney Houston

Allen Iverson

Mick Jagger

Haley Joel Osment

Shawn Kemp

Lil Kim

Queen Latifah

John Lennon

Bob Marley

Paul McCartney

Matthew McConaughey

George Michael

Randy Moss

Bill Murray

Willie Nelson

Carlos Santana

Tupac Shakur

Charlie Sheen

Oliver Stone

Thurman Thomas

Rasheed Wallace

Dionne Warwick

Amy Winehouse

Wow.

How can we continue to make something illegal when so many people are obviously using it?

Well, maybe because it is extremely dangerous. The following is a list of some of the health effects that you may experience if you smoke marijuana.....

*Impaired perception
*Diminished short-term memory
*Loss of concentration and coordination
*Impaired judgement
*Increased risk of accidents
*Loss of motivation
*Diminished inhibitions
*Increased heart rate
*Anxiety, panic attacks, and paranoia
*Hallucinations
*Damage to the respiratory, reproductive, and immune systems
*Increased risk of cancer
*Psychological dependency

One thing that is often overlooked is the role that marijuana use plays in traffic accidents. One study of patients in a shock-trauma unit revealed that 15 percent of accident victims who had been driving a car or motorcycle had been smoking marijuana, and another 17 percent of them had been both smoking marijuana and had alcohol in their blood. 

Another study focused on the drug tests of 150 reckless drivers.  The study found that 33 percent of them tested positive for marijuana, and 12 percent of them tested positive for both marijuana and cocaine.

In addition, smoking marijuana is worse for your lungs than cigarette smoking is.  Marijuana smoke actually contains higher concentrations of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons than cigarette smoke does.  In fact, researchers believe that marijuana smoke deposits more than 4 times as much tar on the lungs as cigarette smoke does.

While not as addictive as a drug such as cocaine is, the reality is that marijuana can still be addictive.  A marijuana addiction can be beaten, but nobody can do it for you.

So how do you know if you are addicted to marijuana? The following are some of the common symptoms:

-The feeling that you can’t get through the day without marijuana.

-You are not able to control your marijuana use. In other words, “one hit” is never enough.

-The feeling that you must always have a supply of marijuana.

-Repeated failure in trying to stop using marijuana.

-You may find yourself driving under the influence of marijuana even though intellectually you know that it is wrong.

-You may find yourself stealing money or committing crimes to obtain marijuana.

-The feeling that you must have marijuana to deal with your problems.

-You may have many unexplained absences from work and have difficulty sleeping.

If you are addicted to an illegal drug, there is good news. You can get free if you are willing to fight to do so.

There are basically four key steps that you need to take.

#1) Admit You Have A Problem

Most addicts refuse to admit that they are addicts. They ignore the problem and so they never get any treatment for it. If you are going to beat this, then at some point the first step is to admit to yourself and others that you do indeed have a problem.

#2) Decide That You Want To Change

Many addicts are perfectly content to stay in their addicted state. It is comfortable for many of them. But in order to change you have to decide that is what you want, and you aren’t going to accept the pain and suffering that your addiction is causing you any longer.

#3) Reach Out For Help

Talk to someone that you trust and ask for help. This involves swallowing your pride. Often a good first step is to reach out to a trusted family member. After that, reaching out to a professional who works in the field of your addiction or reaching out to a spiritual advisor can be extremely helpful. You are likely to need help in overcoming your addiction, and family, friends and licensed professionals are there to be that help.

#4) Turn To God

Ultimately this is the most important step. Many have found that they did not have the power in themselves to beat an addiction, but that when they turned to God they found all the power that they ever needed. The truth is that we all need God whether we are addicts or not. We are all messed up in some way and we have all sinned. But the good news is that Jesus Christ came to this earth to die for our sins on the cross. We urge you to invite Jesus Christ into your life today, because He will not only help you overcome your addiction - He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life, and nothing is more important than that.

To learn more about how you can become a Christian, we would encourage you to read this…..

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1049/1049_01.asp