Marijuana places a significant strain on the health care system, and poses considerable danger to the health and safety of the users themselves, their families, and our communities. We know that marijuana use, particularly long-term, chronic use that began at a young age, can lead to dependence and addiction. Marijuana is not a benign drug. In 2011, approximately 4.2 million people met the diagnostic criteria for abuse or dependence on marijuana. Marijuana use is associated with addiction, respiratory illnesses, and cognitive impairment. Marijuana is also the second leading substance for which people receive drug treatment and a major cause for visits to emergency rooms. Studies also reveal that marijuana potency has almost tripled over the past 20 years, raising serious concerns about implications for public health – especially among adolescents, for whom long-term use of marijuana may be linked with lower IQ later in life. Research also shows that policies that would make drugs more available would likely not eliminate the black market or improve public health and safety. Recent reports from the nonpartisan RAND Institute in the United States found that the potential economic benefits from legalization had been overstated. Marijuana legalization would not eliminate the black market for the drug. Instead, dramatically lowered prices could mean substantially lower potential tax revenue for states or countries. For these reasons the Administration continues to oppose