The death of singer Whitney Houston does not yet have an official cause, but there are plenty of rumors circulating that her death is attributable to drug use.

Those rumors have triggered almost innumerable comments and debates, beginning the night of Houston's death, regarding the effect of legalizing drugs on their abuse. "First it was Michael Jackson, then Amy Winehouse, now the magnificent Whitney Houston. Let's legalize drugs, like Amsterdam, it's a very sane city now," the singer Tony Bennett told an audience at a pre-Grammy party just hours after Houston was found, Huffington Post reported.

But for every person speaking out in favor of legalizing drugs, there is someone else who wants to talk about how legalizing them would do nothing to curb abuse. CNN columnist William J. Bennett pointed out that numerous celebrity deaths in recent years have been due to legal, prescribed drugs and alcohol. In Massachusetts this debate currently centers on the legalization of medical marijuana. Come November, Massachusetts voters could be faced with a ballot question asking them to approve "new treatment centers [that] would be authorized to acquire, cultivate, possess and process marijuana, including the development of related products such as food, tinctures, aerosols, oils, or ointments," according to a Boston.com article.

The article continues, "Those patients allowed to possess marijuana would be issued registration cards by the state Department of Public Health after a physician determines in writing that they have one of the qualifying medical conditions." Closer to home, a faced a slew of drug charges last October. Waltham Patch reported that police raided a seemingly-empty warehouse and found hundreds of pounds of marijuana in varying stages of drying, as well as $20,000 in cash.

And last June, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank announced he was .

Marijuana possession, though in an admittedly different context, also hit Wayland earlier this year when a , a chocolate taffy laced with THC, the high-inducing chemical in marijuana.

Cheeba Chews, and other brands of similar product, are legal under some states' medical marijuana laws. But in Massachusetts, Cheeba Chews currently fall under the Commonwealth's marijuana decriminalization policy, meaning a civil citation and a fee of $100 can be issued for possession of under 1 ounce of marijuana. Patch reported , but the article drew comments from proponents of medical marijuana and legalizing marijuana in general.