>> I know many in their 40’s and 50’s who are fit, upper middle class professionals. Articulate and engaging. Smart.
Well, our summer house is about 45 minutes from downtown Denver; casual strolls past the dope shops reveal not many of those you describe. Most of what we see are long haired, unshaven, scruffy 20-somethings who look like they have pissed away the last 10 years of their lives.
They probably have! Pot may have contributed too.
But you can find the same class of folks on skid row.
Not much we can do about that besides try to make it unavailable to them. And, we saw how prohibition worked out last time.
Of course I HAVE seen religious folks on FR over the years advocate for prohibiting alcohol again. While I disagree with them, I respect their intellectual honesty.
After all, it IS far more dangerous and damaging than pot.