So I am sure we have all heard about this marijuana, or "Weed" store that may or may not be opening in Livingston. When I first heard of this news, I thought it must have been a joke. There was no way Livingston, one of the best educational systems in all of NJ, would accept this. 

Soon I came to know, this was far away from a joke. People were actually serious about opening a recreational "Weed" store, and for what? So that kids in middle and high school can get an easier resource to the thing that we have been working hard for years to get them away from? 

In the past year, 35% of high school students admitted in an anonymous survey that they smoked Marijuana in the past year, the numbers have only gone up since. 

About 1 in 16 high schoolers use Marijuana on a daily basis, and over 20% of high schoolers smoked Marijuana in the last 30 days. 

As you can see, Marijuana has already had a big impact on our lives, it's up to us to stop it from getting any worse.

I can't tell you how many times I have been scrolling through Snapchat stories, to see a bunch of boys smoking in a group, or a girl vaping in her room. Not just online, but in person as well. 

There are still more negative impacts to Weed. Studies show that Marijuana tends to cause hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking and speech, faster heart rate, putting more stress and making your heart work faster. The risk of a heart attack increases 5 fold after smoking marijuana. It also causes lower bone density, chronic coughing, bronchitis, shortness of breathing, and wheezing. Marijuana smokers are 3 times more likely to develop cancer. 

In conclusion, if we allow this Marijuana store to open, it goes against everything we as a town stand for.