If you could be convinced that, if marijuana was legalized, the number of underage marijuana users would at least double, maybe triple, would you still want it legalized?
> If you could be convinced that, if marijuana was legalized, the number of underage marijuana users would at least double, maybe triple, would you still want it legalized?
Definitely. Particularly if it kept the same underaged marijuana users sufficiently stunned that they did not experiment with P-Methamphetamine. This would keep my Patrol much safer.
Naturally, I’d prefer people left such substances alone. But they won’t — so my fallback position is to prefer that they have easy and cheap access to substances that will do them and everyone around them the least amount of harm.
“If you could be convinced that, if marijuana was legalized, the number of underage marijuana users would at least double, maybe triple, would you still want it legalized?”
It *couldn’t* triple...already more than 33% of ‘underage’ people try it.
THAT is how effective your multi-hundred-BILLION dollar ‘war on some drugs’ is. Impressive, eh? (Not to mention the fact that prohibition is both fueling crime and funneling BILLIONs more dollars offshore.)
The costs of keeping it illegal are simply unacceptable, both in treasure and lost human potential. If it were legalized the ‘forbidden fruit’ allure would vanish. Check the statistics in the Netherlands, where it’s legal - the sky hasn’t fallen there.