Lets approach this in order that you presented your statements. To the first statement, that prohibition doesn't drive demand up, may I offer this from the CATO institutite. People drank MORE during Prohibition than every before. Just like High School, drinking was 'the fun thing' to do. Forbidden fruit and all that. It's just human nature to want to do what you are forbidden to do.
It should be noted that annual per capita consumption and the percentage of annual per capita income spent on alcohol had been steadily falling before Prohibition and that annual spending on alcohol during Prohibition was greater than it had been before Prohibition.[4] Alcohol Probition: Alcohol Consumption
To your second point, that places that have legalized drug use have seen increased usage. And this is a surprize? Given a choice of smoking pot (hashish, LSD, cocaine, ect.) at place 'A' and going to jail, paying inflated prices, and having the product cut with plaster of paris, baby formula, confectioner's sugar, or only God knows what. Or one could go to place 'B' with no risk of jail, reasonable prices and garanteed quality. If you shoot powdered concrete into your veins, chances are that the cutting agent will do MORE damage to your organs than the drug alone.
Drugs have been with mankind for centuries. Prohibition creates even more potent drugs, which increase the 'bang' for the buck. Examples are Everclear and other 'mixers'. In the WoD, we now have Crack and a host of new 'designer' drugs; that would likely never have come into creation if it were not for Prohibition. Because some percentage of 'product' is caught, the dealers are investing millions in making more potent and addictive drugs, that are far more condensed and easy to transport. Why ship 50 tons of Pot on a cargo ship, when I can ship the same profit line in the back of a pickup?
Look here for a number of statistics that showed alcohol consumption was down with a number of very positive results.
Again, it doesn't matter. You have to draw the line somewhere to keep hard drugs off the market, so there will ALWAYS be a war on drugs. It's just a matter of where you draw the line.
That sites no good either. It starts out with some positive statistics but it ends up on your side.
BA-loney. Your own supporting statement says people spent more, not drank more.
Prior to Prohibition, about half the states made alcohol illegal. Alcohol consumption dropped, and dropped dramatically. As soon as Prohibition went into effect, alcohol consumption rose, but to levels lower than pre-Prohibition.
Per Capita Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages (Gallons of Pure Alcohol) 1910-1929.