“It is my contention... and the contention of any number of substance abuse professionals... that people with psychological issues self-medicate with these substances.”
That’s a very interesting hypothesis, and quite possibly true; and exactly what I told my son when he asked me if pot was really dangerous. I told him that no one really knows if pot causes madness, or madness causes pot use. So even aside from the importance of obeying the law, it is best to play it safe and avoid this quite possibly hazardous substance.
I also remember the lie detector question I was asked many years ago while interviewing for a famous Wall Street bank: “Have you used any illegal drug other than marijuana?”. I inferred that the bank owners were themselves recreational smokers. It’s an utter disgrace that government continues to put people in jail for doing what Clinton, Bush, Palin, and Wall Street bigwigs have also done.
It's an utter disgrace that you would characterize it that way. In almost every case, someone would have to be caught multiple times, refuse treatment, and disobey a judge before getting jail time.