Drugs are not the same as alcohol. The differences are real and significant. That said, I think a case can be made that marijuana is comparable in social effects to alcohol. I don't think the same case can be made for crack and heroin.
As for Nerf-World, there is always too much of a good thing. I can say, though, that I like having an FDA inspecting food and medicines so that I don't need to take the time to individually assess the safety of every bit of food or medicine that I put in my mouth. I do think, however, that there is room for "This isn't safe but we are going to let you do it anyway. Just don't come and sue us if you get hurt, sick, or die." Cigarettes fall into this category. But I don't think the solution is to eliminate the FDA and legalize everything, buyer beware. There were problems that led to these things being created. The problem is that safety, like taxes, falls on a sort of Laffer curve and at some point, the cost to increase safety any further is astronomical.
Agreed. I'd just like to see the feds out of the mix. It's more power than they need to have. Giving more power and money to Washington is like giving a bottle of Jack Daniel's and car keys to teenage boys...it's asking for problems. And the states need to get out of the asset confiscation business. Way to much room for abuse there.