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"that we would all become hardcore potheads?"

Not all. With marijuana legalization, I'd say we'd go from 6% to 20%, half of them under 21.

In 1979, when marijuana was illegal, we were over 13%. So I think 20% is a conservative figure under legalization. Maybe 25%.

And for what? What do we, society, get in return? Nada (that's Spanish for bupkis).

Actually, what we'll get is, "If marijuana, why not peyote? Nitrous? Shrooms? LSD? Ecstasy? GHB? Ketamine?

Not that you care. Hell, you probably agree. So, this isn't about marijuana at all, is it?

I"m just not interested in opening up a Pandora's box for no reason. Even with a good reason or two I'd be reluctant. But this is a no brainer.

"Not all. With marijuana legalization, I'd say we'd go from 6% to 20%, half of them under 21.

In 1979, when marijuana was illegal, we were over 13%. So I think 20% is a conservative figure under legalization. Maybe 25%."

Marijuana use in 1979 was high, but that was it's absolute peak after the whole thing started in the 1960's. The whole "drugs, sex, and rock and roll," thing was in full swing. Things have changed since then, and people are a lot smarter about drugs.

I don't think there is any reason to think that past month use numbers would go up to 25%. Our use numbers are already among the highest in the world with just over 6% of our population reporting past month use of marijuana. This puts us over most countries with much less restrictive marijuana laws, including Holland where you can buy marijuana openly in shops. No country in the world has use rates of 20% or 25%, not even close. Why would you think Americans would be so much more depraved than the rest of the world? Marijuana is not that much fun. Most people who try it don't like it. Most who do like it and continue to smoke it end up getting tired of it and leaving it alone.

As for your comment about half the people who will try marijuana being under 21, I don't know where you are coming up with that wild guess. According to the government numbers, right now only about 30% of those who report past month use are under 21, and that keeps changing as the years go on because the percentage of those over 21 who smoke marijuana keeps growing. The reason it keeps growing is not that so many more over 21 are trying pot, it's just that more and more of the people who came of age before pot started becoming popular are dying off and being replaced by people who have tried it and a tiny fraction of those people still smoke it.

One other thing that is important to note about the numbers of people under 21 who smoke marijuana is that this 30% of total current users is not made up of a bunch of little kids. The biggest part of these people are 18 through 20. While it may be that 30% of those who report current use are under 21, those under 18 only make up 13% of the total number, and those under 16 make up less than 5% of the total number of persons reporting past month use of marijuana in this country. Most of the under 21 crowd smoking pot are college aged young adults, not little kids. And the ratio of young users to older users will continue to shift to older users as more of the people who came of age before marijuana became popular die off, whether marijuana is legalized or not.

There is absolutely no reason to think that if marijuana was made legal for adults that 50% of whatever growth in marijuana use resulted would come from people under 21. For that matter, there is no reason to think that marijuana use in general would go up as much as you think it would.

"Actually, what we'll get is, 'If marijuana, why not peyote? Nitrous? Shrooms? LSD? Ecstasy? GHB? Ketamine?'

Not that you care. Hell, you probably agree. So, this isn't about marijuana at all, is it?"

I don't want those drugs to be legalized. Most of those aren't addictive, so I am not as worried about them as I am drugs like meth, cocaine, and heroin, but I still wouldn't want to see them legalized and made more available than they already are. Marijuana is much safer for users than the other drugs you listed. It's also safer for the general public because it isn't nearly as impairing or prone to causing crazy behavior as some of the other drugs you mentioned. Moreover, it is far more available on a national level than those drugs and far more people use marijuana than those drugs. Legalizing marijuana wouldn't increase marijuana availability much. It shouldn't increase availability at all for teens who already report that it is as easy or easier to get marijuana than it is to get beer. These other drugs are more dangerous, and not nearly as easy to come by for most people.

I do not believe that simple possession of these drugs should result in a felony conviction. I don't think that simple possession of a personal use amount of any drug should result in a felony conviction. There is no need for it. Most of the people who fool around with these substances are young and still at that stage where they feel invincible. Most will grow up stop fooling around with drugs. The fact that possession of these substances is a felony does not deter many who are interested in using the drugs. A misdemeanor with fairly certain consequences would be just as much of a deterrent and it wouldn't leave so many with a felony record that will severely limit their ability to succeed in this world.

As for giving you reasons why marijuana should be legalized, I've done that for you before as have so many others, but you aren't interested. So, I won't waste my time going over all of that again.