History teaches us that so-called 'progressives' love using the power of the state to criminalize possession of mind-altering chemicals: the 18th Amendment, for example, was the result of years of pressure from the unholy alliance of teetotaling bible-thumpers and the 'Progressives' of their day.
Hitler, of course, was a famous teetotaler, and communists like Che Guevara routinely railed against alcohol/drug use because it got in the way of revolutionary fervor.
Real Conservatives like William F. Buckley were on the right side of this issue, and understood entirely that it was a question of basic concepts of Freedom and liberty. Unfortunetly, to gain the majority, the GOP took in all sorts of democrats, who were Christian and Patriotic but otherwise are leftists in that they believe the government exists to tell other people how to live.